Legacy
by Pegsccarter
Summary: "You won't be alone." Little did Peggy Carter know, those words to Steve would apply to her after Steve's supposed death.
1. Chapter 1

Legacy

Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.

Spoilers: Captain America: The First Avenger and Agent Carter.

Chapter 1

The war in Europe had come to a close two months after Captain America disappeared. Peggy couldn't go anywhere without seeing newspapers with the headline: Captain America missing, presumed dead. While the public was missing their national hero, Peggy Carter was missing Steve.

The man who had changed her life so much in the few short years she'd known him. Perhaps in more ways than she originally thought, which is what brought Peggy to the doctor's office to find out if her suspicions were correct.

Peggy sat in the small room of the doctor's office with her hands in her lap. She had learned to cope with stress from the war but the anticipation was killing her.

Luckily, she didn't have to wait much longer since a moment later the door opened and the doctor walked in.

"Good morning, Miss Carter."

"Good morning," she greeted.

"Well, let's take a look at your test results," the doctor said as he opened her file. Peggy watched him very closely as he read over the paper. "Okay, Congrats Miss Carter, the rabbit died. You're with child."

Peggy closed her eyes for a minute, taking in the news. Though she had suspected this was the case for a few weeks now. She was still taken off guard by the shock of it all.

She was going to have a baby.

"Miss Carter, are you all right?"

Peggy opened her eyes then answered. "Yes, I'm all right…Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll sure your husband will be pleased to hear the news."

If Peggy wasn't used to having to think on her feet, she probably would have stuttered out a reply.

"He died in the war," Peggy lied.

She knew what people thought about unwed mothers and didn't want to deal with the scrutiny, at least not right then.

"I see," he said, dryly. "My condolences."

Peggy gave him a curt nod as he went to open the door then she gathered her purse and filed out of the room.

Soon after leaving the doctor's office, Peggy arrived back at the hotel room she had been staying in and dropped her purse by the front door.

The young woman's mind was reeling with the news she had just been given. She honestly didn't know what to think. She had known it was possible, obviously, that's why she went to the doctor in the first place but thinking something and actually knowing it was completely different.

As she digested the news, fear crept up in her. Peggy wasn't sure if she was capable of being a mother. She had given up so much personally so she could be in her line of work. Honesty, she hadn't given too much thought to having children before. If she had, having children had been a far off thought.

Peggy lowered herself onto the small sofa and brought her knees up to her chest. Despite her doubts or worries, she was going to be a mother. In about seven months she would have a child, Steve's child. A few tears fell down her face as she remembered the last conversation she had with Steve before he crashed the plane. She could still hear his voice as it played in her head.

"_I'm going to need a rain check on that dance." _

Her thoughts then drifted back to the night the baby was conceived. He had walked her back to her room after she found him in the Stork Club after Bucky's death. It all happened so fast, the next thing she knew they were waking up in each other's arms. She remembered that night; she told him he wouldn't be alone. Now she wouldn't be alone. This baby, their baby was a remaining part of him.

She loved Steve, though she never got the chance to tell him. Peggy knew she would love their baby too. She couldn't give this baby up, not that she really wanted to. Besides who knows how or if Steve's altered genetic code would affect his child. It was possible and if the baby had any super powers at all, it would need their mother to be there for them.

Peggy was anything but a quitter. She could do this; raise her and Steve's child. Now all she had to do was figure out what this meant for her career. Meaning, she would have to tell Colonel Phillips. It wasn't a conversation she was particularly looking forward to, but she knew it would have to take place sooner rather than later.

She then snapped herself from her thoughts, thinking it wouldn't do her any good to overwhelm herself with so much at once. Peggy reached over to the end table and opened the drawer. There hidden between two small books was the picture she had of Steve from his pre-serum days.

Peggy let out a breath as she ran her hand over the picture.

"Steve, I wish you were here right now but I promise you, I'll take care of our child. I promise you that."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A week later, Peggy sat at her desk in the underground office of the SSR in London. The office was as busy as ever; everyone around her was bustling around, finalizing reports and packing up equipment now that the war in Europe was over.

Peggy meanwhile was going through files on her desk and placing them in boxes as she finished. She had yet to tell anyone her news since she had wanted to take some time to wrap her brain around the whole thing.

So far she believed she was handling the news well, as well as she could be with it still being so new to her. Peggy was a very determined woman and she believed that she would get through this. She had to. All she could do was take it one day at the time, which seemed to be going well with the exception of one night where she found herself crying out of grief for Steve before she fell asleep. So far that was the only time her emotions seemed to really get the best of her.

Peggy then leaned over to put a file in a box that was farther away from her and as she did so she felt a sudden wave of nausea. Morning sickness left something to be desired though and she hoped this wave would pass in a minute so she wouldn't have to rush off to the restroom.

Peggy sat back in her chair, took a sip of water and closed her eyes in an attempt to calm her stomach. Thankfully, the nausea seemed to pass quickly this time. When she opened her eyes again she saw Colonel Phillips talking to his secretary before heading back into his office after returning from a meeting. She figured now was as good of a time as any to tell him her news.

The young woman slowly stood up; pausing to neaten any winkles that had appeared on the skirt of her uniform while she was sitting before making her way over to her superior's open door. She then knocked on the doorframe to announce her presence.

Phillip's eyes flicked up briefly before looking back down. "Carter."

"Colonel, if you're not too busy, I was hoping to discuss something with you."

"Yes," Phillips replied but kept his eyes on the report in front of him.

Peggy closed the door before she walked to the center of the small room and took a deep breath before speaking. "Sir, I'm with child."

Phillip paused for a minute with his pen in hand before he looked up at Peggy, who tried to keep eye contact under his stare.

"You are?"

"Yes, it seems so."

Phillips sighed, then dropped the pen and leaned back in his chair while continuing to look at her.

After a few seconds of silence, Peggy opened her mouth to say something just as Phillips finally spoke.

"Rogers?"

He had done it. He had asked the question she had been hoping he wouldn't ask. Peggy averted her eyes and looked down at the ground before nodding, slowly.

"Yes. Steve…Captain Rogers is the father."

"I see." Phillips stood up from his desk and moved to stand in front of it which forced Peggy to regain eye contact with him. "I trust you know what this sort of thing could do to your career."

Peggy nodded. "Yes, sir, I do."

She had started thinking about this when she began to think about the future and what life would be like when the baby came. So she was well aware that she would have to leave her job during the course of her pregnancy. No more missions. Until she left she'd be confined to a desk which she knew she would hate, but it was the right thing to do, for her and the baby's safety.

"Now onto your actions with Captain Rogers…"

"With all due respect Colonel, I don't regret my actions with Captain Rogers."

"I understand that, Carter. That's not where I was going with this."

"Sir?" Peggy questioned, feeling a little confused as to the direction of the conversation.

"Well, considering the circumstances of Captain Rogers's disappearance. I think the least we can do is offer you a position with us after the baby's born. Until that time comes you're welcome to stay onboard with us, desk duty only of course."

Peggy looked up at him with a very surprised expression. She had been fully expecting him to reprimand her for her and Steve's actions. She certainly wasn't expecting him to keep a position open for her after the baby.

"Thank you, sir. I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything. You're one hell of an agent Carter and I'm sure you'll make a great mother."

Peggy smiled slightly. "Thank you."

"I do hope you'll keep my offer in mind. I gather everything must feel overwhelming right now."

"It's certainly going to be an adjustment and I will."

"Good," Phillips said while moving to sit at his desk again. Peggy took this as a cue to leave and headed toward the door.

"Carter."

Peggy turned back around. "Sir?"

"I'm sorry about Rogers."

Peggy felt her heart sink at the second mention of Steve.

"So am I."

* * *

Later that evening, Peggy returned to her hotel room and threw her purse onto a chair. She then proceeded to take her heels off and set them aside, realizing how sore her feet were from moving about the office all day.

She shook her head, knowing that her feet would no doubt be sore for the next several months.

Peggy knitted her eyebrows as she turned and glanced around the suite. She quickly realized that something felt off. It felt like someone was watching her.

Keeping her guard up, she moved swiftly but quietly into the room. When she reached the door to the bedroom she heard footsteps, followed by a man coming straight for her. He managed to push her into the wall and after her momentary surprise wore off; she kneed him and clocked him in the jaw which made him go to the floor. After the man was on the ground, she reached over to the desk and pulled out a spare gun that she kept there just in case. Knowing she couldn't get to the one in her purse in time.

She then pulled the gun on the intruder who had just reached for the gun that had been strapped to his belt. Without taking the time to think about it she shot him once in the shoulder. Peggy kept her gun raised as she walked over to him and when she got closer the man reached for his gun again.

"Drop it," she commanded.

Seeing that he was injured and on the ground, the man obeyed and dropped the gun.

"Move it towards me." He pushed the gun closer to her, and she used her foot to scoot it even farther away while keeping her gun pointed at him.

Then a sly smile appeared on his face when he closed his mouth followed by the sound of a crunch. She knew right away what he had done before the foam started coming out of his mouth. Cyanide.

"Hail HYDRA," he choked out before dying from the poison.

Peggy watched him for a minute as her mind tried to make sense of what happened. She then stepped back and leaned against the wall. She knew they hadn't captured all HYDRA agents but following their organization collapse, the SSR figured they would be on the run. One of them had now come after her.

Peggy sucked in a breath, suddenly feeling concerned for her safety. She then brought her hand up to rest on her stomach as she was also concerned for the well-being of her child.

They couldn't know about the baby, how could they? So they must have just been after her for being a part of dismantling HYDRA. She shuddered to think about what they would do if they found out she was carrying Captain America's child.

Peggy went over to the end table where the telephone was kept and dialed Phillips's number to inform him about what had happened and get some help in removing the body from the room.

* * *

A little while later, Howard Stark arrived at Peggy's hotel room to find Phillips already there standing near Peggy as two other officers brought a body bag out of the suite.

"Peggy, what happened? Are you all right?" Howard asked as he approached his two colleagues.

"Yes, I'm fine," Peggy assured. "I was attacked."

"Attacked."

"By a HYDRA agent," Phillips finished.

Howard looked even more shocked as he was relayed this information.

"So they're still a threat."

"Maybe," Phillips said. "Disorganized though, and flapping in the wind. Regardless, I think we should take this attempt on Agent Carter's life seriously, given…"

Peggy then shook her head "no" which didn't go unnoticed by Howard.

"He doesn't know yet," Peggy told Phillips.

"Wait? What's going on here?" Howard asked. "Is there something I should know?"

"Relax, son," Phillips said. "Agent Carter, I think we have everything taken care of here so I'll leave you to your night."

"Thank you for coming, sir."

Phillips nodded. "I'll send an agent over later to check on you."

"Colonel, that's really not…"

"Carter, this isn't an option."

"Yes, sir."

Phillips then exited the apartment leaving Peggy and Howard alone.

"Peggy, what is going on?"

"We should talk," Peggy said and motioned for him to sit down on the couch. Once they were seated, Howard spoke up again.

"All right, so what's this all about?"

"I'm pregnant, Howard," Peggy blurted out.

She watched as Howard's worried expression changed to one of shock. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, Howard. I'm going to have to have a baby."

"Oh my god," Howard said as he digested the news.

"I know."

Howard then opened and closed his mouth like he was about to say something. "Who's the..?" Howard cleared his throat not knowing if it was appropriate to ask her this.

"Steve."

Howard nodded his head; he should have guessed that the baby's father was Steve.

"Steve, of course," Howard then looked over at her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I know it won't be easy by any means. I'm going to do my best and raise this child the best way I know how."

"Oh I don't doubt that, Peggy."

Peggy gave him a little smile and Howard pulled her into a hug for a minute and gave her arms a reassuring squeeze as he broke the hug.

"If you need anything, let me know, okay? Don't hesitate."

"Thank you, Howard. That's very thoughtful of you."

"It's my pleasure, we're friends and Steve was my friend too," Howard said, and Peggy felt sadness start to rise in her as she thought about Steve.

"Well, I should probably be off now before it gets too late." Howard moved to stand followed by Peggy.

"Of course. Goodnight, Howard."

"Goodnight." Howard started walking toward the door then turned back around. "And Peggy, congratulations."

* * *

A week later, Peggy exited an interrogation room at The Rat with a look of pure disgust on her face, one that took her a minute to shake off. Then a satisfied smile appeared on her lips, knowing that Werner Reinhardt was going to spend the rest of his life in prison. She'd see to that and if he ever got out, she'd take care of him personally.

"Are you ready to go, Agent Carter?" The guard asked.

"Yes, I'm done here."

Peggy then went up to the helicopter platform followed by the guard and a few hours later she was back at the SSR base in London.

Once she arrived back at base, she opened the door to the bunker and spotted Howard on the lower level putting boxes in a pile. She then walked down the staircase and went over to him. Howard looked up when he heard the sound of her heels on the concrete floor.

"Hey. How was The Rat?"

"A little aggravating but a very dangerous man will be in prison for the rest of his life which is good news."

"That's very good news," Howard said. "We are talking about Reinhardt I assume?"

Peggy nodded.

"Good, I've never met the bastard, but having seen what that man had in his possession, that alone gave me the creeps." Peggy chuckled.

"Nice to see you laugh, Peg." Howard said, and then continued when she looked at him with a puzzled expression. "You haven't laughed much since Steve disappeared."

"Oh, well, I guess that's true."

"It's understandable though. I think you'll be smiling more in no time when you meet that baby of yours." Peggy smiled. "There's one already, so what's next for you, Carter? Now that the SSR is relocating back to the states?"

"I'll be moving back to the states as well. Phillips is going to keep me on as long as possible, desk work of course."

"So you'll be in New York then. Where are thinking of settling?"

"Brooklyn."

Howard smiled knowing very well why she had picked Brooklyn. It was where Steve was from and Peggy thought it would be the perfect place to live and raise her child. She hoped that in some way living in the same part of New York where Steve had lived would help her feel connected to him throughout this. Then when their child was older hopefully they would be able to feel connected to their father as well.

Though, no matter what, Peggy would see to it that their child knew about Steve.

"Perfect."

"How about you, Howard?"

"California first then New York. Maybe we can meet up for lunch when I'm there?"

"That would be lovely."

"Excellent. Well until then, Agent Carter. It's been a pleasure."

"Likewise." Howard gave Peggy a hug.

"I didn't want to ask but I do have a lot of boxes to bring out to my car and..."

"I'll help. I'm pregnant, Howard. Not made of glass." Peggy then grabbed one of the smaller boxes and started for the stairs.

**Thanks for reading. There will be more to come soon. **


	3. Chapter 3

Legacy

Chapter 3

Three months later.

Howard Stark arrived in New York and as promised called Peggy after retrieving her new contact information from Phillips. Sure enough, Peggy was living in Brooklyn as she said she would be. The two of them arranged to meet at a diner one afternoon to catch up.

Peggy was the first to arrive on that day and she took a seat at one of the booths and waited for Howard to turn up. Luckily, she didn't have to wait long since a few minutes later he walked in the door. She waved to get his attention as his eyes searched the diner and once he spotted her he made his way over.

"Hi Peggy," Howard greeted.

Peggy stood up and gave him a hug. "Howard, it's so good to see you."

"You too."

The two of them then moved to sit across from each other at the booth. Soon after they were seated the waitress came over to take their orders.

"So, how have you been these last few months?"

"Good," Peggy replied. Howard gave her a look, suggesting that he wanted more information. "I've been keeping myself occupied the best I can since leaving the SSR."

"You miss it, don't you? Work?"

"A little," Peggy admitted, though she was considerably downplaying her feelings on the subject.

The truth was that work had distracted her from her personal life, more so than she had realized before. Of course half of it could be attributed to the end of the war. Even so, seeing that the war was over and she wasn't working, all the free time she had made her realize how lonely she really was. Most of her friendships were with people she knew at work who she rarely saw anymore. Her family was back in England so they weren't close, and then of course there was Steve, who was gone. She still missed him very much and the fact that they were going to have a baby made it harder.

"Understandable, I guess," Howard said. "But you're doing well? You look well I mean."

"I am."

"Good."

"So how about you, Howard? Working on anything new since the Manhattan Project?"

"You knew I was a part of that?" Howard asked, after almost choking on his drink.

Peggy nodded. "Mmhmm. Phillips told me and well, I figured, with a weapon like that you'd be involved. That and it was in the paper."

"Ah, that would give it away, wouldn't it? Well, I see you're still on top of things, Carter," Howard commented. "Yes, I was. Not sure how I feel about it but I guess we did what was necessary."

Peggy nodded understanding his reservations about it. "That's understandable too."

After a minute, Howard looked down and then back up at her like he wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out.

"Howard, what is it?"

"Speaking of difficult choices, I feel I should tell you that the SSR has officially declared Steve Rogers killed in action," Howard explained. "I'm so sorry, Peggy but…"

Peggy glanced down at the mention of Steve's name. After a few seconds she looked back up at Howard with a calm face, remaining strong though it did hurt to hear that the SSR was officially giving up the search.

"It's okay, I understand. It would have to be called eventually…It was only a matter of time."

Howard nodded, sadly. He was amazed that Peggy was keeping it together like she was. He could see how painful hearing that piece of news had been for her.

"Still, I'm sorry."

The waitress then came over with their orders and placed the plates in front of them. Peggy and Howard continued to chat as they ate and the conversation shifted to a much lighter one, which both of them appreciated. After they had cleared their plates, they stayed talking for several more minutes before Howard checked his watch and announced he should be heading back to work.

"Thank you for joining me for lunch, Peg," Howard said as he stood up.

Peggy then stood up as well. "You're welcome, do tell Phillips I said hello when you see him."

"I will, I hope we can meet up again soon." Peggy nodded in agreement. "Take care of yourself, pal."

"I will," Peggy said as he hugged her goodbye. When they broke the hug he briefly glanced down at her stomach.

She was definitely pregnant. He had felt the small bump when they were hugging moments ago but he hadn't seen it until now. Howard then glanced back toward Peggy's face and gave her a smile, mouthing "bye" before exiting the dinner.

* * *

After leaving the diner, Peggy walked the couple blocks back to the boarding house she had been staying at for the past few months since moving to New York. On the way back she thought about how nice it had been to see Howard. After seven weeks of not really seeing anyone she knew, it was great to see the familiar face of an old friend.

For some reason it had really helped to talk to Howard because truthfully he was the closest friend she had, and one that knew the most about her. That alone was refreshing. Peggy shook her head, realizing that even though she wasn't currently working as a spy, her life had become an uncover job of sorts.

She had met some nice people in the last few months, mostly from her building but they didn't know the complete truth about her. As far as they knew she was a young woman from England, who worked for the telephone company but was currently on leave and tended to keep to herself. Most of them did know she was pregnant as that wasn't really a secret to acquaintances. Considering that it was getting harder and harder to hide and it being early September so she was wearing lighter clothing that made it more obvious.

However, when it came to the subject of the father Peggy would disclose next to nothing, certainly not his name. She didn't really care what people thought of her, though it would be a lie to say some scrutiny from acquaintances or strangers on the street didn't bother her on some level. It sometimes did, pending on what kind of mood she was in that day. If faced with the question of where the father was, she would politely say he died and leave it at that.

Soon Peggy turned onto the street where the boarding house was located and was on her way up the stairs when she saw her landlady walk out of her office.

"Oh, Miss Carter, may I have I word?"

"Of course, Mrs. Walker. What is it?" Peggy asked stepping back down a few steps.

"Well, there's a young lady coming here today. I was going to put her with one of the other girls, who has now fallen ill so I was wondering…"

"If she might stay with me?" Peggy inquired, picking up on the older woman's line of thought.

"Would you mind terribly?" Mrs. Walker asked. "I wouldn't ask with the baby but…"

"It's all right; the baby won't be here for another few months so I don't mind."

"Well, thank you Miss Carter. I'll send her up after she gets here."

Peggy nodded then headed up the stairs to her room that was soon to be hers and another young woman's. She hadn't thought twice about accepting the request to have another girl share a room with her. She guessed maybe her visit with Howard and thinking about how isolated she had become made her agree faster than she might have before. Certainly, not when she was working, but all things considered it might be nice to have someone to talk to. Her job had required her not to have many close relationships with others for their safety. She figured it couldn't hurt to enjoy some semblance of normally, something that she hadn't had in years before she became a parent.

Peggy ran her hand over her stomach. It was hard for her to believe that she was going to have a baby in less than four months. Despite the hassles of moving to the states and adjusting to being put on leave from the SSR, the last few months had gone by fairly quickly.

And soon she would have her baby in her arms. The thought of that was frightening and exciting in of itself. Part of her couldn't wait to see her baby but the other part of her was scared of what would happen once the baby was born. She gathered that most of her worries were normal fears women have when they're about to become a mother. While others involved the wrong people finding out that the baby was the child of Captain America. So far only she, Howard, Phillips and the Howling Commandos knew the child's parentage and Peggy trusted them to keep that secret. She was also worried what would happen if people she had put away came back and wanted to hurt her child. Peggy knew rationally she couldn't protect her child from everything but she would make an effort to make sure that her and Steve's work wouldn't come back and haunt their child.

Peggy broke herself from her thoughts as she yawned. She then went over to the kitchen area to make a cup of tea before deciding to take a little nap. Though she wasn't as exhausted as she had been in the first trimester she still liked to have a short nap during the day to keep her energy up.

* * *

When she awoke from her nap it was about an hour later and her alarm was going off. She quickly reached over and stopped the alarm but continued to lie in bed and blinked a couple times to help get rid of the lingering feeling of drowsiness. Peggy then suddenly breathed out and smiled while moving her hands over her stomach when she felt fluttering. She still wasn't quite used to the feeling of the baby moving inside her, since it did feel a bit strange but she had to admit it was rather nice. She supposed she would get more used to it as time went on. Already she was starting to feel the baby more and more with each passing week since the first time she had felt it.

The sound of someone knocking at the door tore Peggy from her thoughts and she lifted herself off the bed.

"Coming," she called to the door.

Before going over to the door she made sure to straighten the bed covers and fix her hair and dress. When she opened it there was a blonde woman standing there, who she gathered must be her new roommate.

"Hi, I'm Colleen, You must be Peggy. Mrs. Walker sent me up."

"Yes, of course. Please come in."

Colleen followed her into the room and placed her bags down next the door as she came in.

"Thank you for letting me stay with you."

"You're welcome." Peggy said, looking around the room. "Well, this is pretty much it, the bed folds up and the bathroom is through there."

Colleen turned slightly in the direction Peggy was pointing to see the door to the bathroom.

"It's nice. It will be cozy though," Colleen said with a chuckle "But we'll make it work."

Peggy nodded. "Yes, it will be a tight fit but as you said we'll work it out. Can I get you anything? Tea perhaps?"

"Some tea would be lovely."

Peggy then went to go fill up the tea kettle with water and set it on the stove to boil before sitting across from hew new roommate at the table.

"So when is your baby due?" Colleen asked. "I didn't want to say anything at first but I couldn't help but notice and Mrs. Walker did mention it to me."

"Oh, it's all right, and the baby's due in early January."

"Oh, wow. So about four more months then." Peggy nodded in reply. "So you're not married? Wow, I'm sorry that came out a little more brass than I meant it."

Peggy smiled to reassure her that it was okay before replying. "No, I'm not married."

"So, where's the father? I'm not judging you or anything. I'm just curious I guess since we're going to be roommates in all."

"Well he….he died in the war. He's from here in Brooklyn actually, part of the reason I moved here actually," Peggy replied, realizing Colleen was the first person she told anything about Steve to.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Colleen said, sincerely. "That must be rough."

"It is, but I'm coping."

Colleen nodded and gave her a smile just as the tea kettle on the stove started to hiss.

**Thanks for reading **

**One more chapter left until the baby is born. **


	4. Chapter 4

Legacy

Chapter 4

Peggy and Colleen hit it off well as roommates and became fast friends over the next two months. Peggy found that it was really nice to have a friend around and a female friend at that. After being surrounded by predominately men during the war it was refreshing to have some more female company.

On this morning, Peggy stood in front of the small mirror they kept inside the closet as she took out the pins for her curls and brushed her hair. As she was finishing up she heard Colleen's footsteps when she came out of the bathroom and lifted the bed back up against the wall. The small apartment was indeed cozy but they made it work the best they could. They were very good at making sure the other one was able to do what they needed to at all times. It was difficult managing with only one bed, especially since they had Peggy's growing stomach to accommodate but they somehow made that work too. Since Peggy was further along with the pregnancy now, Colleen was sweet enough to let Peggy take the bed at night so she would be able to sleep better.

"My feet are going to be killing me after work. Wouldn't it be great just to sit down all day?"

"It would be nice. I recommend that you put your feet up if you can," Peggy said.

"I will try. So what are your plans for the day?" Colleen inquired as Peggy stepped out of the closet.

"I was thinking I would take a walk through the park then grab lunch somewhere."

"That sounds nice." Colleen then looked at the clock in the kitchen area. "Oh, Peg, I should run. Don't want to be late for work."

"No. We wouldn't want that."

"No we wouldn't," Colleen said as she grabbed her purse from the side table. "Bye"

"Bye," Peggy called as Colleen's figure left the apartment.

Peggy then went about making herself some oatmeal for breakfast and had just sat down at the table to read the newspaper when Colleen wandered back into the room.

"Peggy, do you have your half of the rent? Mrs. Taylor caught me in the hallway and said our lease needs to be renewed. I thought I'd take care of it."

"Oh, yes, of course. Thank you," Peggy said standing up to go get some money from her purse, before handing it to her roommate.

"No problem." Colleen waved bye again, before heading back out the door for the second time that morning.

After her roommate left, Peggy settled into her morning routine of reading the paper while she ate her breakfast.

Once the dishes were done, she looked around the room not knowing what she wanted to do. She guessed she could go ahead and go on her walk since nothing else was coming to mind. With her mind made up, Peggy grabbed her coat and headed out of the boarding house.

* * *

As she walked down the sidewalk she pulled the coat tighter around to protect herself from the chilly November air. Peggy let her mind wander a bit as she walked the next block, until she sensed something that she hadn't felt for a while, the feeling of someone coming up behind her.

Peggy kept walking just in case she had been mistaken but she continued to feel someone behind her and they were coming closer. After she turned a corner, a hand reached out to touch her shoulder. Without thinking Peggy grabbed the person's hand and managed to push them against the wall.

"Whoa, Peg, it's me," the man said and she admittedly recognized their voice.

"Harrison?" She questioned, still feeling startled as she looked upon the face of her younger brother.

"Surprise. Nice to see you sis," Harrison greeted, as she released him and pulled him into a hug. "You really don't like being snuck up on, do you?"

Peggy broke the hug and chuckled. "Sorry, military training in all that."

"I guess I brought it on myself. I probably should have just called your name."

"Yes, I think you should of," Peggy agreed. "Harrison, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I came to surprise you."

"You came all the way across the Atlantic to surprise me?"

"Well, partly, I did want to see you but I do have some news. I've decided to move to the states and go to university here."

Peggy looked at her brother with a look of almost disbelief before her face broke into a smile. "Harrison, that's wonderful. Where are you thinking of living, New York?"

"Well, actually I was thinking of heading down to D.C. Maybe get an internship there and see how that goes before applying to schools in the spring."

Peggy nodded. She had to hand it to her brother, the plan sounded like a good one. "I'm proud of you little brother."

"Thank you, Peggy," Harrison said, "Now how are you and the baby?"

Peggy glanced down at her stomach at the mention of the baby then back up at her brother. "We're both well."

"Good, then I'll be able to tell Mother that in my letter home."

"Ah, Mum asked you to check up on me."

"Well, I told her I was going to visit you in New York and..." Peggy gave him a look. "Yes, she did. Peggy, she's just concerned. First, you were away during the war. Then you come to visit as its ending and tell us you're pregnant and you're moving to New York."

"Well, I guess I can't fully blame her," Peggy said, wishing she had made more of a point to write to her parents but with having maintained greater distance during the war, she figured she had just gotten used to limited contact with her family.

"So, you are doing well then?" Harrison repeated, just to be certain that his sister was in fact okay.

"Yes, I am," Peggy replied. "Really, I am. Being away from work took some getting used to but yes, I'm good."

"Good, I'm proud of you too, Peg."

"Come on Harry, you can join me on my walk that you rudely interrupted."

Harrison laughed at his sister's words then let Peggy take his arm as they continued down the street.

The two of them returned to the boarding house around eleven and sat across from each other as they continued caching up.

"What is it?" Peggy asked, when she noticed that her brother had a certain look on his face. From experience she knew he only had this particular look when he wanted to ask something but was afraid to.

"Oh nothing, I'm just admiring your place, Peggy. You've done very well for yourself these last few months."

"Harrison."

He then let out a sigh, "All right, it's just I hate that you're going through this alone," Harrison admitted. "I wish your child's father could be here with you. It's not fair to you. That's all."

"Harrison, I told you and Mother and Father that he died during the war."

"I remember but Peggy, losing someone like that must be really hard on you and I'm here if you want to talk about it. Maybe tell me about him."

"Harrison I…" Peggy choked out.

"See, I can see that this is hard for you, and you don't want to talk about it. I don't know, could you at least tell me his name. He is the father of my future niece or nephew so can't I at least know his name?"

"I can't tell you that."

Peggy felt like she was having the discussion she had with her parents when she told them she was pregnant all over again. They had of course asked about the father but Peggy never disclosed a name to them. Not that she didn't trust them, she did. She just didn't know how to tell them without revealing that she worked for not just the military as they thought but the SSR.

"Come on Peggy, the war is over," Harrison said. "Why are you so secretive about this? He didn't break your heart, did he?"

"No. Of course not. He was a very good man who died protecting people."

"He sounds like a hero to me."

"He was a hero…" Peggy trailed off.

"Then can't you tell me his name, just his name. Peggy, I'm your brother."

Peggy could feel her resolve to not tell him fading. "All right, I'll tell you but please don't tell Mother and Father yet. I'll tell them when I'm ready."

"Fair enough. I promise Peg."

"His name was Steve."

"Steve."

"Yes, Steve and he was the best man I've ever known. We weren't really dating yet but we…"

"I get the picture," Harrison interrupted, not wanting to hear that part of it. "Did you love him?

"Yes, I did very much," Peggy said, after taking a deep breath.

"How did he…How did he die?"

"He brought down a plane that was heading towards New York, a lot of people would have died and he gave his life in the process," Peggy explained, trying not to tear up.

"Oh my god," Harrison said in disbelieve, then it dawned on him that the story sounded very familiar. "Wait? Brought a plane down that was headed to New York. You don't mean?"

Peggy nodded, realizing that she had revealed more than she had originally meant to. "Yes, Steve was Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America."

"Captain America. So we're talking the man on the posters and in the news reels."

"The very same."

Harrison sat back in his seat. "Wow. Captain America, huh? You're not kidding me, are you?"

Peggy gave her brother a stern look in reply.

"Okay, you're not kidding."

"No, I'm not and Harrison, you can't tell anyone. This child and I could be in great danger if you do."

Harrison nodded, agreeing to the terms of him knowing. "I promise, Peggy. Your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you." Peggy was glad that she had told him the truth. Harrison was her brother after all and telling him had taken a huge weight off her chest.

"Wow Peggy, You're going to have one hell of a story to tell that baby someday."

"Yes, I suppose I will."

* * *

Harrison left New York two weeks later but promised to come back and spend Christmas with Peggy. When the holidays rolled around, the days went much faster and before long it was the New Year, the war was effectively put behind them. Officers were going back to their former jobs and life was carrying on as normal. It was a relief in many ways to be leaving 1945 behind but on the other hand it felt strange, because for many the scars of the war would remain well into the New Year.

Peggy and Colleen walked down the streets of Brooklyn after going shopping for some last minute things for the baby. Peggy couldn't believe the baby was actually going to be born soon, very soon at that. Within the week, she remembered the doctor estimating. Though her pregnancy was coming to an end rapidly and she was very uncomfortable, all things considered, she was doing well. Peggy was finding that it hadn't really dawned on her yet that her baby would be in her arms soon. For some reason, it just didn't feel real. The baby still seemed like a far off abstract thought at some level

She would think after months of being pregnant and feeling the baby move inside her, that it would feel more real but that was not the case. She figured it would just take actually holding the baby for it to sink in. She was looking forward to it, finally meeting her and Steve's baby, very much so in fact. It was only a matter of time now.

"Hey Peg, are you in there?"

"What? Sorry," Peggy said. "My mind wandered."

"I was just wondering if you're feeling ready for the baby."

"As ready as I'm ever going to be."

"That's understandable. It is going to be a huge change. Oh, but Peggy think how beautiful this baby is going to be."

Peggy smiled but didn't say anything, as the thought of Steve not being there floated in her head. As it did from time to time, especially when the subject of the baby came up.

"So what do you think it's going to be?"

"Oh I don't know," Peggy shrugged.

"You don't want to take a guess."

"As long as it's healthy, I'll be happy."

Colleen nodded, "Fair enough. I do have a thought on the subject though. "

"You do?"

"Yes, but we'll just have to wait and see," Colleen replied with a wink.

Peggy let out a laugh as they turned onto the street where their boarding house was. After they were inside the nice warm building Peggy set the shopping bag down by the crib, which now occupied the space beside the bed near the window and made a mental note to organize everything they had just bought later.

Peggy then sat down in one of the arm chairs and put her feet up on the other one to rest, feeling a little out of breathe from walking and simply feeling tired in general. She was about to close her eyes when Colleen spoke.

"Opps Peg, we're out of milk. I think I'll go run out quickly and get some before it's too late. Want me to get you a chocolate bar or something?"

"Oh yes, that would be lovely."

"Okay, I'll be back in a few," Colleen said, before exiting the apartment.

After she was alone, Peggy reached over to turn the radio on so she could listen to some music while she relaxed. After a few minutes the peaceful jazz song that had been playing ended and a Captain America commercial came on along with the song that had played while he was selling war bonds.

"This is brought to you by our favorite war hero Captain America, may we always remember his bravery and courage."

While listening to this Peggy instinctively wrapped her arms around her large stomach and by the time the next song began playing, tears were flowing freely down her face.

She had completely broken down.

She missed Steve so much and it broke her heart that she was about to have their baby, without him. It would always make matters worse when she would hear or read something about Captain America, which seemed to occur on a fairly regular basis so she could never escape it. Deep down it annoyed her, how they portrayed him. He was a hero but he wasn't one-dimensional or just Captain America. He was Steve first and foremost.

* * *

The next morning, she awoke to Colleen gently shaking her.

"Hey, it's after ten. I figured you might want to get up."

Peggy groaned. She hadn't slept well the night before. At first she had been upset because of Steve then around 2 am she became increasingly aware that she was having pains. She hadn't wanted to make a big deal out of it because she had been experiencing them off and on over the last month or so and also didn't want to alarm Colleen. She tried to ignore them but after waking up she quickly realized they were still present, and that these pains felt different than previous ones had.

"You're right, I should."

Colleen then headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day while Peggy eased herself out of bed. When she was finally standing she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply as another wave of pain came over her. They were indeed feeling different, stronger even.

When the pain passed she managed to walk over to the refrigerator and got herself a bottle of milk before sitting down at the table. She ran her hand over her stomach a few times, absentmindedly as she sipped her drink. Wondering if what she thought might be happening was in fact happening.

By the time Colleen came out of the bathroom, Peggy felt another pain and squeezed her eyes shut in reaction. She could hear Colleen speaking, though she couldn't make out what she was saying to her.

After the pain had ended, Peggy spoke up.

"Colleen."

"Hmm, what is it Peggy?" Colleen asked as she spun around from doing her hair.

"Call a cab." Colleen's eyes went wide as she realized what was going on as well. "I need to get to the hospital."

* * *

**The baby will be born next chapter! Any guesses what it will be? **


	5. Chapter 5

Legacy

Chapter 5

Peggy eyes fluttered open taking her out of sleep, and she let out a groan before closing her eyes then reopening them as she tried to adjust to the light. Her eyes then scanned the small green room as she tried to shake the groggy and disoriented state she was in. Then it suddenly came to her, where she was. She was in the hospital. She had just given birth to her baby the night before.

She glanced over to the door when she heard it open and a bright-eyed nurse stepped into the room.

"Good morning, Miss Carter. How are you feeling?"

"A little sore," Peggy admitted, after trying to adjust her position.

"That's perfectly normal," the nurse whose name tag read Sally said. "I have someone waiting out here who wants to see you."

The nurse then disappeared out into the hallway for a minute and returned with a small bundle in her arms.

Her baby.

Peggy watched very closely as the nurse approached her with the baby. She had been met this little being right after she had been born, when she had been red-faced and wailing, very loudly. The baby had calmed down soon after being placed in her mother's arms. It was an amazing moment, one that took Peggy a little off guard at first but was quickly replaced with complete awe.

The nurse gently passed the newborn into Peggy's waiting arms.

"There you are, Miss Carter."

"Thank you," Peggy replied looking up from the sleeping baby briefly. "Is she okay?"

"Your daughter is perfect and is doing very well," the nurse assured. "I'll give you two sometime alone."

Sally then turned to leave the room and made sure to close the door as she left.

Peggy still couldn't believe that this little person in her arms was her daughter. She was a real person, which was completely mind-boggling for Peggy to think about. The new mother gazed upon her daughter's face and gently stroked her chubby cheek. Her little girl was indeed perfect. The baby's eyes then flickered open and she squinted up at her mother with blue eyes. They reminded Peggy so much of Steve's eyes, though she knew that most babies had blue eyes when they were born and they could change color. Still, Peggy couldn't help but wonder if she would end up having Steve's eyes or any other of his features. Peggy studied the baby carefully, trying to pick out any similarities to Steve but since she was so young it was difficult to tell one way or another. Though, she thought she could make out some of Steve's features in their daughter.

"Oh Steve, I wish you were here with us," Peggy whispered to herself.

She could picture Steve walking around this hospital room with their daughter snuggled up against his chest as he looked at her with a goofy grin plastered on his face. He would have made such a wonderful father. It broke Peggy's heart that he wasn't there with her to welcome their daughter into the world. She wished more than anything that was the reality she was living right now.

Reality then let out a little whimper and Peggy turned her attention back to the baby and brought her closer to her chest.

"Shhh, it's okay," she soothed.

After a few minutes passed the baby quieted down and began to doze off to sleep as Peggy watched her with a smile on her face, feeling herself falling more in love with her daughter by the minute. Her and Steve's daughter was finally here and she was officially a mother. Peggy silently promised her daughter that she would take good care of her, love her and protect her to the best of her abilities.

Peggy then leaned down to kiss the baby's forehead and whispered.

"I love you, Darling."

Peggy continued to watch the baby for some time. How long she couldn't say. She was too mesmerized by her daughter's little face as she slept soundly with her lips twitching every so often. She couldn't blame the little girl for being so tired after the rough last twenty-four hours the two of them had. The sound of the door creaking open then tore her away, as she looked up to see that the nurse had wandered back into the room.

"How are we doing?" Sally asked, quietly.

"Good, she's sleeping."

The nurse smiled and took a peek at the baby. "She is beautiful. Do you have a name for her yet?"

Peggy looked back at the baby and put her lips together as she searched her brain for a good name. She had thought of a few names over the last several months but had ultimately decided that she wanted to see her child before naming her.

"Sarah," she replied when it came to her.

"Sarah, that's a pretty name," Sally said. "I'll bring the birth certificate for you to sign in a bit."

Peggy nodded and focused her attention back on her child, now named Sarah. She then let out a breath that she hadn't even realized she had been holding. Who would have thought that naming a person would turn out to be one of the most stressful things she ever had to do, which was strange considering her career, but it was. Now her baby had a name. Sarah. Peggy smiled; thinking how much she loved the name and felt it would suit the little girl well. It had the added bonus of being Steve's mother's name; she had remembered it from his file. This way Sarah would be able to have a piece of her father in her name.

* * *

Later that day, Peggy sat on her bed looking over her daughter's birth certificate while the newborn lay in a small bassinet that had been moved in the room beside Peggy.

Sarah Louise Carter, born January 7, 1946

Peggy glanced down at her own name and then at the empty place where the father's name would go. She wanted so badly to put Steve's name down but knew logically she couldn't. She had known for months that listing him wouldn't be an option. For her daughter's safety and privacy for that matter she couldn't list Steve Rogers as the father of her child. She couldn't risk someone putting together that Sarah was the child of Captain America. Peggy felt a tug on her heart when she glanced back over the place where Steve's name should be one last time. Before exhaling sadly as she set the paper down on the nightstand. Alongside letters to be sent to Howard, the Howling Commandos, Colonel Phillips and her family to inform them of Sarah's birth.

For what seemed like the millionth time that day the door to her hospital room opened but this time it was Colleen who stepped foot into the room. To which Peggy was grateful as she was not overly fond of being poked and prodded repeatedly by the nurses.

"Hi Peggy, sorry, I couldn't get here sooner. I was working overtime, but anyway," Colleen explained, trying to keep her voice soft when she spotted the bassinet in the room.

"That's all right, Colleen," Peggy assured. "It's nice to see you."

"Well, I guess the important question is how are you doing?"

"I'm well, and so is she."

Colleen's eyes widened and she smiled very brightly as she looked toward the bassinet.

"She? It's a girl."

"Yes."

"Aw Peggy," Colleen said, walking over to the bassinet to look at the sleeping baby. "A little girl, I knew it."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I told you I had a guess and well I was right."

Peggy smiled at her friend. "Her name's Sarah."

"Sarah, that's a beautiful name, Peg." Colleen reached into the bassinet to stroke the baby's little hand. "Hi Sarah."

"Is she still sleeping?" Peggy questioned.

"Yes, like a little angel," Colleen replied. Then she made her way around to the other side of the bed and sat down in the chair that was next to her roommate. "So Peggy, what does it feel like being a mother?"

"Different and new but I'm happy," Peggy replied. "I gather it won't always be easy though."

"That's what I hear. You can handle it, Peggy and I'll help when I can."

"Thank you, Colleen."

After a moment passed Colleen spoke again "Does she look like him at all?"

Peggy knitted her eyebrows. "Her father?" Colleen nodded. "Yes, she does a little bit."

Colleen watched her friend's face closely and saw sadness begin to creep onto it.

"Peg, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just wish he could be here."

"I know, Honey," Colleen said, taking Peggy's hand. "Hey, you're here to tell her about him. I bet that will mean a lot to her when she's older."

Peggy nodded. "I know. It's just…" She paused wiping a tear away. "I don't know why I'm suddenly so emotional."

"Well, you just had baby, Peggy, You're allowed to be," Colleen replied, handing her a handkerchief from the drawer in the nightstand. "Everything will be okay."

Peggy nodded, taking the handkerchief and began drying her eyes with it. Then she met Colleen's concerned gaze. "I'll be okay."

"I don't doubt that. You're going to be just fine, Peggy, trust me. Sarah is lucky to have you for a mother."

"Thank you, Colleen, for being here. It's nice to have a friend."

Then a little noise came from the bassinet, letting them know that the baby had woken up.

"Ooh, I think someone is up," Colleen commented. "Hey, Peggy, can I hold the baby?"

"Of course you can."

Colleen smiled then got up and went back over to the baby and gently lifted her up into her arms, While Peggy managed to get control of her emotions as they diminished and she just smiled as her friend cooed at her daughter.

Colleen was right; Sarah would have her to tell her all about Steve and everything would be okay. Even if things got tough for them, she knew somehow that they would be okay.

* * *

After her short hospital stay came to an end, Peggy arrived back home at the boarding house now accompanied by her newborn.

"Thank you." Peggy reached forward and gave the cab driver his fare.

"Good day, Ma'am."

Peggy gave him a nod then opened the door to the car and stood up while holding Sarah close to her chest and her bag in the other hand. Once she stepped onto the sidewalk she set the bag down briefly so she could adjust the blanket around the baby to protect her from the cold winter air.

She then made her way to her and Colleen's room and when she reached for the doorknob, the door swung wide open before she had the chance to grab it.

"Peggy," Colleen greeted. "Why didn't you call me before you left the hospital? I would have met you downstairs and helped you with your bag."

"That's okay, I managed."

"Well, I'll take it from here, you have your hands full," Colleen insisted, taking Peggy's bag and carrying it into the room with Peggy and the baby right behind her. "Some flowers and cards came for you today."

Peggy glanced at the table and could see the small stack of cards and two bouquets of flowers.

"Oh, thank you."

"You're welcome. Well, as much as I would love to stay and visit with you and this little angel I have to go to work."

"Go on, we'll see you later."

"And you'll be okay for seven hours?"

"Yes, I'll probably just get some rest while she's sleeping. Now go, go."

"All right then, well you have a good rest, Peg. Assuming she lets you rest," Colleen said.

"Thank you. Have a good day at work Colleen."

"Bye." Colleen waved as she stepped out into the hallway.

After her roommate left Peggy turned her attention to Sarah who was wide awake and wiggling in her arms.

"Looks, like it's just you and me."

Peggy adjusted her hold on Sarah then went to go look at the various cards that had been sent to her. She smiled as she read over the congratulations letters from Howard and the rest of her friends.

After she finished reading the last card from Gabe Jones, who wrote that he's claiming the title of "uncle" in her daughter's life and not to let the other knuckleheads claim the position. She shook her head in amusement as all the Howling Commandos had requested to be called "uncle" by Sarah. Peggy could sense they would all be very protective of her daughter; it was very touching to know how much they cared for her and the baby. She knew Steve would have loved that.

Sarah then wiggled again and began to fuss in her mother's arms. Peggy moved her daughter so she was resting on her shoulder and then began to rub the baby's back while standing up to move around the room. She continued rubbing her back until Sarah quieted down. Peggy figured the baby was probably getting hungry and would need to be fed soon. As they passed by the window Peggy moved to stand in front of it and looked out on the city. She then realized she hadn't properly welcomed her daughter to their home.

"Welcome home, Sarah."

* * *

**It's a girl! From here on out I will be exploring some storylines from the show and beyond.**


	6. Chapter 6

Legacy

Chapter 6

The first month of motherhood for Peggy was very challenging. The young woman wasn't sure what she had been expecting but there were times when it felt ten times more difficult than she could have imagined. Sarah would only sleep for short periods at a time then would need to be fed, changed or held and this cycle repeated throughout the day, every day. Peggy was simply exhausted; lack of sleep during the war had done nothing to prepare her for the demands of a newborn. In light of it all, Sarah made it worth it and Peggy loved her very much.

When Sarah Carter was two-months old, things were slowly starting to get into a routine. Though the baby would still wake up needing to be fed or changed during the course of the night. The rough first month seemed to be well behind them and Sarah was gradually becoming more settled, giving Peggy more time to do chores around the apartment and most importantly rest.

Peggy looked over at the crib where her daughter slept as she finished ironing her shirt for the day. She smiled in Sarah's direction as she put the iron down and unplugged it, knowing it wouldn't be long before the baby woke from her morning nap.

"Okay, I have twenty minutes give or take before she wakes up," Peggy thought to herself.

After she finished dressing, Peggy sat down to read a chapter of the latest novel she had been reading. She was certain that over the course of the last several months she had read and re-read all the books in her possession. She was grateful when Colleen had recommended this one to her. Her dear friend had continued to be a good roommate and would help Peggy with the baby whenever she needed some assistance and would watch Sarah for a few hours on her days off so Peggy could run some errands.

Just as she finished the chapter and was about to start the next one Sarah started making noises from her crib.

"I'm coming, Darling," Peggy called as she put down the book and made her way over to the crib.

When she looked into the crib, Sarah scrunched up her face and fussed until her mother picked her up.

"See, there now, you're okay. Did you have a nice nap?" Peggy asked the baby after she was in her arms. "Come on, let's get you dressed."

The young woman then set Sarah down on the bed and went over to the closet to retrieve a little dress and tights for the baby to wear. When she returned, her daughter was lying there kicking her legs as she attempted to put one of her tiny fists in her mouth.

Peggy chuckled, "Are you trying to fit your entire hand in there, Sarah?"

The baby looked up at Peggy with fascination as she always did and continued to suck on her fingers. Peggy chuckled again and kissed the baby's other hand that wasn't currently in her mouth.

"Okay, let's get you ready."

After Sarah was in her clothes, Peggy took her into her arms again and grabbed her pocketbook that held its usual stuff plus some things for the baby before leaving the apartment.

When she reached the first floor she located Sarah's baby carriage and placed her in it. Ideally, Peggy would have liked to keep the carriage in the apartment but that simply wasn't practical with the stairs. Thankfully, her landlady had let Peggy keep it downstairs out of the way of foot traffic.

"Oh. Good morning, Peggy."

Peggy turned to see the landlady's eighteen-year-old daughter Beth standing at the foot of the stairs.

"Good morning, Beth."

"Oh hi." Beth waved after spotting Sarah in the carriage. "She's adorable."

Peggy nodded in agreement with a smile on her face.

"Well, I won't keep you. Mother wanted me to go check on the garden. Have a good day, Peggy."

"Likewise."

Beth then continued on down the hall and Peggy grabbed the carriage's handle and without much difficulty pushed it out the front door.

* * *

The mother and daughter then proceeded to walk down the street and ended up going through a nearby park. A place that the two of them had taken to visiting almost every day as the weather was slowly warming up. When it was around noon Peggy began walking a couple blocks away from the park looking for a place to eat. Then the bright green sign for the L&amp;L Automat from across the street caught her eye. The diner looked like it would be a good place to eat before heading home and since she had never been there before Peggy figured she would try it.

Once she was inside she looked around at the halfway filled diner until she found an empty booth. After parking the carriage beside the table Peggy picked up Sarah and placed her on her lap as she sat down. Peggy then reached for her pocketbook and took out a rattle and shook it in front of her daughter's face who watched it for a minute before pushing it away as she wiggled on her mother's lap.

"Good afternoon. May I get you anything?"

"Hello. Yes, may I have a cup of coffee, a turkey sandwich and a slice of pie, please?"

"We have apple. Is that okay?" The waitress asked.

Peggy nodded.

"Great, I'll bring that right out for you." The waitress's eyes then shifted to Sarah on Peggy's lap and she mouthed aw with her lips. "What a cutie-pie. Is she yours?"

"Yes, she is," Peggy replied looking at her daughter who was reaching out for the rattle still in her hand.

"What's her name?"

"Sarah. I'm Peggy by the way."

"Hi Peggy, I'm Angie. Nice to meet you," Angie said. "Say, are you from England?"

"Yes, I am. What gave it away?" Peggy asked, jokingly.

"You know, I just had this feeling," Angie replied, going along with the joke.

Sarah then started fussing and Peggy moved her to rest on her shoulder and began patting the baby's back, hoping it would calm her.

"Sorry about that."

"Oh don't worry about it," Angie assured. "So how long have you been living in New York?"

"About nine months."

"Is this your first time coming here? I don't recall seeing you in here before?"

"Yes, it is. As you can see I have been a little busy of late," Peggy said, while continuing to pat Sarah's back.

Angie chuckled. "Oh my lord, I'm so sorry. I'll go put in your order now."

"It's quite all right. Lovely talking with you," Peggy said.

"And you. I don't get a lot of nice customers I'm afraid so this was a delightful change." Peggy gave her a little smile.

Angie then walked over to the counter to put in the order while Peggy placed Sarah who had now settled down back in her carriage so her hands would be free for lunch.

* * *

When Peggy returned to the apartment later that day, she was a little surprised to see that Colleen was already there.

"Hello, Colleen," Peggy greeted.

Colleen looked up from the newspaper she had been reading and smiled at her roommate.

"There you two are, I was wondering where you had gone off too."

"We had a quite a busy day. We went for a walk then had lunch," Peggy explained while looking at the baby who was resting contently in her arms.

"That sounds nice."

"What brings you home so early? I thought you were working fulltime today."

"I was but then I got a headache so I decided to come home."

"Aw well, I hope you're feeling better," Peggy said while walking into the kitchen area.

"Getting there," Colleen replied. "Oh, this came for you in the mail today."

Peggy adjusted Sarah so she could hold her with one arm before reaching over to take the envelope from Colleen. Upon opening it she was greeted by a piece of paper bearing the SSR symbol. A million thoughts then started to race through Peggy's head as she wondered why they had contacted her.

"Colleen, would you mind taking Sarah for a few minutes?"

"Of course." Colleen then stood up from her seat and Peggy carefully passed the baby over to her. "Hi there," Colleen said as she bounced Sarah in her arms.

While her roommate cooed at the baby, Peggy removed the piece of paper from the envelope to fully read over it. Only to find there were no words written on the paper, only a telephone number.

"Peg, is everything okay?"

Peggy looked up from the paper to meet Colleen's gaze. "Yes, I'm just going to have to make a quick call."

"Oh, go ahead. I got her."

"Thank you."

Peggy then turned around and made her way out of the apartment and into the hallway. Luckily, their apartment was located on the same floor as the telephone that was provided for the residents. After she picked up the phone she looked around in both directions of the hallway, making sure she was alone. Once she was sure it was safe Peggy began dialing the number for the operator. After it rang for a moment or two a lady answered and then proceeded to patch her through to the number written on the paper.

"Hello," Another lady's voice greeted. "This is Colonel Phillips office."

"Yes hello, I got a letter from the Colonel today."

"Ah, can I have your name, please?"

"Margaret "Peggy" Carter."

"And your ID number." Peggy then read off her SSR ID number. "One moment please."

The next voice she heard was that of Colonel Phillips. "Carter."

"Colonel Phillips, hello, I received your letter."

"Good. I hope you've been doing well. How's the baby?"

"I have sir and she's good," Peggy replied.

"Glad to hear it. So Carter, not beat around the bush. You're probably wondering why I contacted you."

"I was curious, sir."

"Well, I wanted to see where you stood on coming back to work for us. I remember you saying you wanted to last we spoke."

That was true on her last day of work a few months ago she had told Phillips that she would like to take him up on his offer to return to work after having the baby.

"I would like to yes," Peggy replied. "Is that why you're calling, to see if I'm ready?"

"Yes," Phillips explained. "There's a fellow SSR agent that I know, Dooley, in New York, who is looking for a new codebreaker and well Carter you're the best one I know."

"Oh I see. Well thank you for thinking of me. I have to say I wasn't expecting to come back so soon."

"Carter, it's perfectly okay if you want to take more time. You're not required to rush back if you're not ready."

"No sir. It's all right. I just need some time to think it over, that's all."

"Fair enough. How about you think it over and call me back tomorrow morning and we'll discuss it some more then?" Phillips offered.

"Sounds good," Peggy agreed. "Wait sir, if I do take the job, would I be going on missions?"

"Well, that would be up to Dooley and if you felt comfortable with that after you settle in."

"Thank you, sir. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Goodbye, Carter."

Peggy hung up the phone and leaned against the end table for a minute. Phillips wanted her to come back and had recommended her to another agent looking for a codebreaker. She was truly honored that he had thought of her. As she had been thinking off and on during the last two months about when would be an appropriate time to return to work. Now, she had a perfect opportunity to return but that would mean leaving Sarah in the care of someone else during the day. Part of her didn't feel ready to leave her daughter for long periods of time because she wanted to be with Sarah as much if not more than she wanted to go back to work for the SSR. From a logical standpoint as an unwed mother, she knew that it was only a matter of time before she would have no choice but to go back to work so she could continue to support her daughter. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

The sound of a door opening then tore her from her thoughts and when she turned around she saw Colleen standing there with the baby.

"Sorry, I think she's getting hungry."

Peggy opened her arms for the baby and Colleen gently passed Sarah to her mother. "Thank you."

Her friend nodded in reply then went back inside the apartment, sensing Peggy wanted to be alone with her child.

Peggy looked down at her daughter in her arms and when Sarah's eyes met hers she gave her a big smile which in turn made her mother smile as well.

"So my Darling, that was my old friend Colonel Phillips and he wanted to know if your Mummy was ready to return to work. What do you think? Hmm? Would you be okay if I went back to work?"

Sarah just looked up at her mother with an expression that Peggy interpreted as_ mother what in the world are you saying to me._

Peggy chuckled and then resumed searching her brain for the answer when another thought surfaced in her head. She knew that going back would mean the possibility of going on missions, which could mean putting her life in danger. With Steve gone, the last thing she wanted to do was leave Sarah an orphan. Sarah then let out a cooing noise and Peggy kissed her head while continuing to think. Of course if she were to go on a mission she'd do everything in her power to make sure she was home to be with Sarah every night. And going back to work would give her the opportunity to stop a lot of dangerous people. By doing so not only would she be continuing Steve's work but she would be perhaps making the world a little safer for their daughter. Looking into those bright blue eyes of her little girl, the risk felt like it would be worth it.

* * *

The next morning, Peggy called Phillips up again and told him that she would accept his offer. The Colonel then proceeded to provide her with the address for the SSR office she would be working at and told her to meet him there that evening.

Ten minutes before she was expected to meet with Phillips and Dooley, Peggy stood in front of the New York Bell Co. and double checked the address to make sure she was at the right place.

Peggy then passed through the door to the lobby of an ad agency and made her way straight to the elevator. After the doors of the elevator opened again Peggy saw a row of women sitting at desks, operating telephone lines. When she reached the end of the line of desks the woman seated there gave her a smile.

"Good evening, May I help you?"

"Yes, I'm Peggy Carter. I have an appointment with Colonel Phillips and Chief Dooley."

The woman nodded; obviously she had been expecting her. "Go on up."

The woman then pulled a lever and a secret elevator door opened.

"Thank you," Peggy said, before getting into the second elevator.

A few minutes later she arrived on another floor and this time when the doors slid open she was in the office of the SSR. As she walked into the office, she noticed how empty it was. Only a few agents remained at their desks and they seemed to be very engrossed in their work, since only two of them looked up as she walked across the floor. When she got closer to the chief's office she spotted Phillips and the man she assumed to be Dooley. Phillips' eyes then caught sight of her and he motioned for her to come into the office.

"Agent Carter."

"Colonel Phillips," Peggy greeted shaking his hand.

"Let me introduce the two of you, Agent Carter this is Chief Dooley, Dooley this is Agent Carter."

"Pleasure," Peggy said, shaking Dooley's hand as well.

"So Agent Carter, Phillips speaks very highly of you," Dooley said.

"Carter is one of the best codebreakers I know, Dooley. You won't be sorry."

"Good," Dooley said. "I also hear that you had a baby recently."

Peggy nodded "Yes that is correct."

For a minute there Peggy wondered if Dooley may have a problem with that as she knew a lot of people would.

"She did indeed. A little girl," Phillips replied. "Special circumstances being what they are, and well putting it plainly, Peggy here is too good of an agent to be let go completely."

"I'll hold you to that, Chester." Dooley then turned to Peggy. "I trust your daughter will be in some form of childcare while you're working."

"Yes of course, my landlady's daughter has offered to take care of her during the day."

"Great," Phillips said. "Are we all set here, Dooley?"

"I think so."

"Good, well I should be heading back to Jersey; I'm leaving for Washington first thing in the morning, Carter, nice to see you again."

"You too, Colonel."

"You'll be in good hands here," Phillips glanced over at the other man who nodded. "Welcome back to the SSR, Agent Carter."

* * *

**Thanks for reading. **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A month later

Peggy's morning had started off as it usually did, that was until she opened the paper and saw the headline: Captain America Ally Yet To Explain Weapon Sale with a picture of Howard below it. After wondering what Howard had gotten himself into she proceeded to finish getting ready for work. Just as she was finishing up, Peggy was taken a little off guard when her roommate Colleen burst through the door, having come home early from work since she was feeling ill. The two then chatted for a few minutes while Peggy gathered the things she would need for the day.

"Peg, you work at the phone company. It ain't life and death."

Peggy then placed her gun in her pocketbook which was hidden from her roommate's line of sight by the walls of the closet.

"Darling, you have no idea," Peggy said exiting the closet. "You rest. I'm going to drop Sarah off with Beth then head in to work."

"Aw, I wouldn't mind if she stayed," Colleen said.

Peggy meanwhile had made her way over to the other side of the bed and to the crib while Colleen was speaking.

"Not if you have tuberculosis, she's not." Peggy lifted her now three-month-old daughter from the crib. "Say bye to Colleen, Sarah."

Colleen then waved to the baby from the bed. "You know, Peggy, if you're worried about having someone to watch Sarah while you're out on a date. I'll watch her, it's no problem."

Peggy sighed slightly at the mention of her dating again.

"It's not that. And I do appreciate the offer. I just think it's best if I focus on my daughter and work at the moment," Peggy explained.

"I understand but Peg, it is okay for you to date, eventually. Sarah will want you to be happy and you wouldn't be betraying her by dating someone other than her father."

"I know, but dating is honestly the last thing on my mind right now," Peggy said, glancing at her daughter, who was looking around from her place on her mother's shoulder. "Tell you what; I'll leave it to Sarah to tell me if she wants me to date once she can speak."

Colleen chuckled at her roommate's sense of humor as Peggy smoothed her daughter's hair and then headed out of the apartment, giving Colleen a smile as she went.

After exiting the apartment, Peggy went down to the second floor and using her free hand knocked on the door of the Walker's apartment.

Beth then appeared in the doorway, having been expecting Peggy to bring the baby by at any moment.

"Good morning, Peggy."

"Good morning," Peggy greeted then kissed Sarah's head before passing her over to Beth. "She should be in a better mood for you today, she slept well last night."

"Oh good. We were a grumpy little girl yesterday, weren't we?"

"Yes, we were. Do call me at work if there are any problems."

Beth nodded. "I will."

Peggy reached out for her daughter's hand and held it for a moment before letting go. "I'll see you both this evening."

"Have a good day at work."

Leaving Sarah to go to work was always very difficult for Peggy. She loved being back at the SSR for the most part, even though her male coworkers didn't treat her that well because she was a woman. According to them she was only good for getting lunch orders and answering phones. Also a lot of them no doubt disapproved of her having a child out of wedlock. She had heard some of them whispering about it from time to time. Obviously, trying to guess who the father was, while they may have their suspicions Peggy would never confirm that it was indeed, Captain America. Despite the annoyances with work she was glad to be back, it felt right to be contributing in keeping the world safe again.

* * *

Later that day Peggy sat eating dinner at the L&amp;L Automat where Angie worked. The two women had become close friends over the last month and Peggy had taken to frequenting the diner more often, finding that it was always nice to chat with Angie after a long day at work. As expected the SSR was now on the hunt for Howard Stark, Peggy had tried to intervene on her friend's behalf but it didn't do any good as they didn't take her seriously.

Peggy tried to block out the events of the day as she ate her dinner, though this only worked briefly, since when she picked up the evening paper an article of Howard graced the front page alongside a picture of Captain America.

"I saw him once at a USO show in Posaic. You could eat him with a spoon," Angie said from over Peggy's shoulder, announcing her presence.

"Yes, I understand he was quite something," Peggy said, putting the paper down on the table.

Angie took notice of Peggy's shift in demeanor and moved to stand in front of her. "Everything all right, English?"

"Fine, Angie," Peggy replied, then proceeded to tell her at least half of the truth. "If you don't count work."

"Boys at the phone company giving you a hard time?"

"No more than usual. It's just…during the war I had a sense of purpose, responsibly. And now I connect the calls but never get the chance to make them. Do you know what I mean?"

Angie looked around the diner, making sure her boss couldn't see her before sitting down across from her friend.

"I had an audition today uptown. Took three trains, got two bars into is you is or is you ain't. They gave me the hook. I guess I ain't. We all got to pay our dues, even if it takes a while. You got talent it's only a matter of time before Broadway calls."

"I'm afraid I can't carry a tune."

"Doesn't matter when you got legs like yours," Angie said. "And you want to talk responsibly; you have that beautiful little girl of yours who's going to be so proud of you someday."

Peggy smiled. "Yes, well she is quite the little responsibly."

Their conversation was then interrupted by a rude customer who was demanding Angie's attention. After Angie left to attend to said customer, Peggy got up to get some pie before heading home. When she came back to the table she was a little alarmed to find a note telling her to go out to the alley in five minutes.

Not knowing what else to do, Peggy did as instructed, perhaps against her better judgment. Upon opening the door that led to the alley, she was greeted by a voice.

"Miss Carter."

"Do I know you?"

"Oh we haven't had the pleasure," the man said with his face half-hidden by his hat. "We may yet. You're coming with me."

Peggy's military training then kicked in when she heard the sound of a car's motor starting, prompting her to knock the man unconscious just as the car started down the alleyway. Peggy tried to open the door to the diner only to find that it was locked. She would have no choice but to run. The car continued to be hot on her tail as she went further down the alley until she reached another door, which was locked as well. There was no way out. Thinking on her feet, Peggy reached for the gun in her purse and shot out one of the front tires making the car crash into a pile of boxes. Then to add to her already eventful night, when the driver's door opened she was greeted by the face of Howard Stark. He had been the driver all along.

"I know I should have called first. Miss me?"

Peggy stared at him in disbelief. Out of all the people she would have expected to see tonight, Howard was not one of them.

"Howard."

Howard got out of the car and inspected the tire. "Well, you blew it out. Good thing there's a spare. Where's Jarvis?"

"Jarvis?"

"My butler," Howard started, and then he spotted Jarvis lying on the ground a little ways up the alley. "Oh geez, Peggy, you knocked him out."

"Well, he did approach me in a dark alley and said "you're coming with me." What was I supposed to think?"

The two of them then walked over to the unconscious man and Howard began gently slapping the man's cheek to wake him.

"Well, that certainly could have been handled better. Sorry about all this," Howard said, pausing from trying to wake Jarvis. "You look good, Peg."

"I'm awake, sir."

"There we go," Howard said helping the man sit up. "Do you think you could fix the tire? It's been blown out."

"Of course, sir. Give me a minute…or two," Jarvis said holding his jaw as he sat up, slowly.

After standing up, Howard turned to Peggy. "So Peggy, how have you been? I'm sorry, I haven't come by to meet Sarah yet or see you. I've been busy."

"So I gathered," Peggy said. "Howard, what's going on?"

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

* * *

That night Howard asked her to help clear his name and retrieve the inventions that were stolen from him. Peggy was hesitant, knowing that if she got caught she would look like a traitor and that her life would be in even more danger than it already was. Which she didn't take lightly for her daughter's sake, but Howard had been such a good friend to her since Steve's death so how could she say no. In the end, Peggy agreed to help and would hope for the best. God help her.

The following day, Peggy began her first day as a double agent and it started out whether smoothly. Though she did hit some bumps when she retrieved the nitramine and found that it wasn't a piece of paper anymore but a bomb. Luckily, she was able to get in touch with Jarvis who Howard had tasked with helping her with anything she may need while he was overseas.

When she finally returned home that night after leaving the club, the lights in the apartment suddenly came on, startling her briefly.

"Peg, is that you?" Peggy then discarded her blonde wig before walking into Colleen's view. "Hi. They sent me home. Fever. I didn't know what time you'd be back, I can take the chair."

"Oh, don't even think about it. I'll make you some tea," Peggy said going over to the stove to turn it on.

Colleen relaxed back onto the pillows before taking note of her roommate's sparkly silver dress.

"Wow Peg, you look like a million bucks. Wait, were you out, out?"

"Well in a manner of speaking."

"Oh Peg, I'm really proud of you. I knew you were too great of a catch to be alone for too long." Peggy smile faded as she looked down at the floor briefly. "I want you to tell me all about it, in the morning."

Colleen then promptly rolled over onto her side and went back to sleep. Not wanting to waste any more time Peggy grabbed various ingredients from the kitchen area, before retreating to the bathroom to disarm the bomb.

After mixing the ingredients together to create the solution she went about disarming the bomb. Peggy swallowed hard, before steadying herself as she began lifting the core out with tweezers. In the middle of getting the core out, it started glowing and smoking. Peggy quickly grabbed a perfume bottle now containing the solution and sprayed it as fast as she possibly could. The core's brightness soon faded, leaving it a dark grey color.

Peggy took a deep gulping breath to calm herself, before grabbing the bottle of brandy she had brought in the bathroom with her. Just as she was bringing the glass to her lips she heard a loud thudding sound.

"Colleen. Is everything all right?"

After a few seconds passed, without a reply from her roommate Peggy wandered back out into the middle of the apartment.

"Colleen." Peggy then pulled back the covers only to find that Colleen had been killed, with a bullet to the head.

Though she was shaken, Peggy looked up into the mirror just in time to see a man in a green suit emerge from the closet with a gun in hand.

After a struggle, Peggy managed to push the intruder out of the window. Thankfully, her skillset hadn't become too rusty when she was pregnant but she didn't have the time to think about that. While thankful she was alive, Colleen was not.

The young woman made her way over to the bed where her friend's body lay. It was her fault that Colleen was dead, she should have been more careful. Colleen had been such a great friend to her these past few months; it wasn't fair that she was gone.

Peggy then slowly sat down on the bed next to Colleen's body and placed her hand on her roommate's and began to cry for yet another friend who was lost to her.

* * *

Soon the police had been called to remove Colleen's body and Peggy stood out in the hallway, giving her statement to an officer by the Walker's apartment.

"I came home only to find that someone had broken in… and that's when I found her," Peggy told the officer.

"Thank you Ma'am, that will be all," the officer said before beginning to talk to the landlady.

Peggy looked over at the Walker's door when she heard it creak open and then Beth emerged from the apartment, carrying Sarah who was fast asleep.

"Here you are. She missed you."

Peggy felt tears prickle in her eyes as Beth passed the baby over to her.

"Thank you, Beth. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Peggy then went back to the apartment holding Sarah very close to her chest. When she got there she took a minute to look around at the room, it now felt so empty without Colleen. Peggy glanced down at Sarah and watched her chest rise and fall a few times. Thank goodness Sarah hadn't been in the apartment when that man had broken in. She very well could have been and that frightened Peggy very much. Peggy then leaned down and kissed Sarah's head. Lingering the kiss for a minute before lowering her daughter into the crib, making sure to lay another blanket over her to keep the baby warm for what would be their last night in the apartment.

* * *

The following evening, Peggy sat at the counter of the Automat with Sarah on her lap while she browsed through apartment listings. She hoped that she would find something soon so that her and Sarah didn't end up staying at a hotel for an extended period of time. Her eyes then glanced from the paper to the clock; it was five till seven, meaning that Jarvis would be arriving soon with the car. Apparently, when Jarvis had spoken to Howard earlier that day he had offered up one of his apartments to Peggy for her to stay in, though she wasn't sure if she'd accept the offer. Nevertheless, she had agreed to at least see the apartment before deciding.

Peggy paused after circling another listing that looked decent when The Captain America: Adventure Time show came on the radio.

"Angie, would you mind changing that?"

"Oh you bet." Angie then moved to turn the knob on the radio. "I can't believe French beat me out for that part. You lousy krauts are in big trouble once Captain America gets here. It's better right?"

"Thrilling realistic."

Angie then glanced at the newspaper in front of Peggy. "You ladies find an apartment yet."

"Not yet, I need to find something soon though," Peggy said, checking on Sarah who was contently resting on her lap, busily trying to stick her toy in her mouth.

Angie leaned on the counter and began to read over the ads that Peggy had circled to try and be of some help to her friend.

"Cozy studio apartment. That means it's a broom closet. You can't have a baby there. Isn't that right, hon?" Angie asked Sarah while reaching over to lightly pinch her chin before reading on. "Convenient to public transportation, you'll be living under the 3rd Avenue Al."

"What would you suggest?"

"Girl down the hall from me just moved out. Couldn't hack it I guess. She was always crying to her mother on the hall phone."

"Oh, poor thing."

"Yeah, maybe the first couple of times, anyway, it's over on 63th. Real safe, lots of great girls. And two of them have babies so Sarah wouldn't be the only one. Plus, I'd be your neighbor so that's not, nothing."

"That's a lovely idea but I'd hate for you to grow tired of me," Peggy said as she was very hesitant to put another friend at risk.

"You don't strike me as the crying on the phone type, English."

Peggy eyes then caught sight of the obituary section of the newspaper nearby and spotted a picture of Colleen.

"I appreciate it. Truly but um...I'm actually on my way to see an apartment now."

"At this hour?" Angie questioned "Are you sure you're reading the right kind of want ad?"

"It comes recommended through a friend," Peggy assured.

"If you say so."

After Angie walked off to take orders, Peggy looked at the clock again to see that five minutes had passed and Jarvis should be waiting right out front. The young woman then pulled out change from her pocketbook and set it on the table. Before standing up, she adjusted her daughter's position which led to Sarah losing her grip on the toy, making it fall to the ground.

Peggy knelt down to pick up the toy and handed it back to her child. "There you go, Darling. Shall we go see if we'll have someplace to sleep for the night?"

* * *

The next morning, Peggy awoke at Howard's apartment having given into staying at the lavish penthouse, at least for one night. As she was getting ready to go check out the dairy farm, something dawned on her. She didn't have anyone to watch Sarah. Beth was all the way in Brooklyn and it wouldn't be practical to drive in the opposite direction of where she needed to be in the first place, not if she planned on doing this before she went to work.

"Damn," Peggy muttered under her breath.

She had wanted so badly to keep Sarah away from all this but it seemed like, at least for today that wouldn't be possible.

Peggy then walked over to the telephone and dialed Jarvis's number. A little while later, Peggy stood outside the apartment building as Jarvis's car pulled up alongside the curb.

Once she was in the car, Jarvis greeted her by saying. "I see you changed your mind after all."

"Well I didn't really have a choice in the matter," Peggy said adjusting Sarah on her lap as the baby let out a whimper.

"So I see."

Once they arrived at the dairy farm, Peggy took out the glasses she had placed in her pocketbook and put them on.

"Now Mr. Jarvis, wait here, I shouldn't be long," Peggy said, sternly. "And watch her."

Peggy passed her daughter over to the butler who looked a little alarmed at the prospect of watching the baby.

"Miss Carter, I should probably mention that I'm not really good with these things," Jarvis said as he held the baby awkwardly.

"With babies?"

"Yes, well children in general. I haven't spent much time around them you see," Jarvis explained.

Peggy couldn't help but be a little amused by this. "You'll be fine. Honestly, she's a baby not a bomb."

"I'm not so sure about that," Jarvis said as Peggy slammed the door closed.

When she returned to the car after inspecting the dairy farm for vita- radiation she found Jarvis reading the newspaper to Sarah.

"Oh good, you're back. Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Not exactly but I have a lead on a missing truck," Peggy replied, gesturing for him to pass her daughter back to her. "So how did you two fair?"

"She's a very discerning child."

"Oh, how so?"

"Well, I was reading to her about geopolitics and she doesn't like the sound of the Iron Curtain."

Peggy chuckled as she kissed Sarah's cheek not really paying attention to the fact that Jarvis was watching them. Jarvis had to admit he was very impressed with Miss Carter's ability to juggle her work and child, since it seemed like it would be virtually impossible for one person to handle. From watching them, he could tell just how much Peggy adored that little girl. Of course Howard had told him who Sarah's father was but Jarvis wasn't sure if it would be appropriate for him to reveal that he knew.

* * *

Like the previous two nights, this one ended up being very eventful, between Lee Brannis's death and herself being shot in the leg. Peggy was now exhausted and couldn't wait for some much needed sleep. After changing into her night dress she sat on the bed, applying a new bandage to her wound that Jarvis had stitched up for her. While she wrapped the clean bandage around her leg, her thoughts drifted back to her conversation an hour ago with Jarvis, as he had reminded her of something very important. She had been trying so hard to protect Sarah and everyone around her that she had forgotten that she needed support. Colleen's death had been unfortunate, but she knew she had to forgive herself somehow. She had to continue to fight and protect the world that despite its cruelty could be beautiful and most importantly let others help her.

Peggy reached over for the picture of Steve that she had placed in the drawer of the nightstand.

"_You were his support." _

A cry from her daughter then grabbed her attention and she set the picture down. Before limping over to Sarah's crib at the foot of the bed and lifting the crying baby out of it.

"Shh. It's all right, Sarah. I'm here," Peggy soothed as she rocked the baby, gently.

While Sarah continued to cry in her arms, Peggy went back over to the nightstand and turned on the radio thinking that it might aid in calming her daughter. When she turned it on, Peggy was relieved to find that for the first time that day, the annoying Captain America radio show wasn't playing as the song "Somewhere over the Rainbow" began to fill the room.

It was the perfect lullaby. Peggy took the picture of Steve into her hands again and held it against Sarah's pink blanket as she swayed back and forth lulling her daughter to sleep along with the music.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. **

**Obviously this chapter was very similar to the events of the first two episodes of Agent Carter. There will be twists coming up in future chapters which I'm very excited to share with you all.**


	8. Chapter 8

Legacy

Chapter 8

Angie stood at the front of her home, the Griffith Hotel while she waited her friend to show up. As she waited, she found herself daydreaming until she saw a cab pull up next to the curb directly in front of her.

Peggy then opened the door to the backseat of the cab and waved at her.

"Hi Peggy," Angie greeted, after coming closer to the cab.

"Hi." Peggy then reached forward to hand the cabdriver money. "Have a good day."

"You too, Ma'am."

Angie waved at the cab driver while Peggy got out of the car along with Sarah who was fast asleep on her mother's shoulder. Peggy glanced over to make sure the baby was still sleeping as she stepped onto the sidewalk with her friend, while the cab pulled away from the curb and back into traffic.

"She's really tuckered out, huh?" Angie commented.

Peggy chuckled, "It's the car. She falls asleep nearly every time we're in one."

"Well, fancy that," Angie said. "Aw, but now she can't see her new home. You're still going to apply for an apartment, right?"

Though Peggy had been reluctant to move into the same apartment building as Angie, considering what happened to Colleen. She had come around to the idea. It did reassure her that they wouldn't be staying in the same room which should keep Angie safe and save Peggy from losing another close friend. Besides, all things considered she didn't like the idea of staying at Howard's penthouse. Not with the chance that the SSR could find out about the place, and with what she was currently doing for Howard, continuing to stay at his house would almost certainly bring her unwanted attention. Having her own place seemed like the best option so she ended up calling Angie and asked her to arrange an interview for an apartment with the landlady.

"Yes, I haven't changed by mind, Angie," Peggy assured.

"Good, I was just checking." Angie then turned to look at the building. "Well, this is it. Home sweet home."

"I looks wonderful, Angie. Truly."

Angie smiled. "Come, I'll show you around. You'll love the garden it's so beautiful now that the flowers are blooming."

As soon as they began walking, Peggy felt a sharp pain in her calf and had to close her eyes momentarily. When she recovered she checked on her daughter, making sure that she hadn't jostled Sarah during her little stumble. Luckily the three-month-old was still asleep and had only shifted position slightly.

"Are you okay, English?"

"Yes, I just caught my heel on a cobblestone yesterday."

Angie nodded, "Ouch, I'm sorry, honey."

"It's all right. It doesn't hurt that much."

The two of them then continued on toward the garden as Peggy limped along due to her injury, but thankfully as they walked the pain seemed to ease up some.

After a little while the two women had strolled completely around the gardens and the first floor of the building. During which time, Angie had introduced Peggy to several of the women there. Including the two who had babies, who were not too much older than Sarah. When the time Peggy was to meet with the landlady Miss Fry rolled around, they made their way back to the front door until Angie reached out her hand to stop her.

"Oh, before you meet Miss Fry, you should probably know that she's very traditional, a little uptight but underneath that she's a real sweet lady," Angie explained.

Peggy nodded. "Okay."

"Okay, so you might not want to mention that you and Sarah's father weren't…" Angie bit her lip, feeling weird saying this to her friend.

"Oh, right, of course."

"I'm sorry, honey, I know it's not fair to ask you to lie but...You know how people can be."

Peggy nodded, knowing all too well how people could be about her status as a single mother and she had accepted it, for the most part anyway. Though if lying or being vague kept a roof over her and Sarah's head she was more than willing to do that.

"It's all right Angie, I understand,"

"Good. Well, let's go see Miss Fry."

Angie then led the way over to Miss Fry's office and they waited outside until an older woman, Peggy assumed to be Miss Fry came out to greet them.

"Ladies," the older woman greeted.

"Miss Fry, I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Peggy Carter. Peggy, this is Miss Fry."

"Nice to meet you. Is it Miss or Mrs. Carter?" Miss Fry asked, glancing at the baby in Peggy's arms.

"Miss, since her father died anyway."

"Ah I see. Too many memories?"

"That's one way of putting it," Peggy replied, being as vague as possible.

"Well, come with me Miss Carter and we'll talk."

"I'll watch Sarah for you, Peg." Angie opened her arms for the baby and Peggy passed her over.

"Thank you."

"No problem," Angie replied, giving her friend a supportive smile as she followed Miss Fry into her office.

* * *

A few day later, Peggy and Angie walked home to the Griffith after Peggy had gone to Angie's work to apologize for so being distant lately. Of course Peggy didn't reveal the real reason why she had been distant but Angie didn't pry. Now that Howard's weapons had been located and were safely in the hands of the SSR, Peggy could finally enjoy a night off with the company of her friend.

When the two women arrived at Griffith, they made their way over to the stairs and went straight up to their floor. Once there, Peggy paused to knock on one of the doors and a few seconds later another resident Mary answered it.

"Hi Peggy, Angie. I'll get Sarah for you. One second."

"Thank you," Peggy said.

In the process of moving from Brooklyn to Manhattan and into the Griffith, Peggy realized that she would have to find someone else to watch Sarah for her during the day. Since it was easier than having Beth take the train up five times a week and given Peggy's recent late-night hours it was more practical to have someone close by. After Peggy had informed Beth of the situation, Angie suggested that Peggy ask Mary, who also had a little girl if she would be willing to watch Sarah during the day. Luckily, Mary was more than happy to help another mother out.

Peggy smiled when Mary appeared in the doorway again. This time with Sarah in her arms who was quickly handed over to her mother.

"Hello, darling, did you have a good day?" Peggy asked, rubbing her daughter's back.

"She did indeed. Have a goodnight girls."

"Night Mary," Angie replied before Mary closed the door to her apartment.

The three of them then continued on to Peggy's apartment and while Angie retrieved the schnapps from her room, Peggy went about getting Sarah ready for bed.

"I got it," Angie announced, coming back into the apartment. "Asleep already? I have to say that is one good baby."

Peggy glanced at her sleeping daughter and tucked her in. "She is, though you did miss the screaming fit she had before I fed her."

"Ah, well here you go Peg, for getting Sarah to sleep," Angie said handing Peggy a glass.

Peggy took it and clinked glasses with Angie before taking a sip.

"That's smooth."

Angie nodded, as she took a few sips from her glass. "Mhmm. So English, what do you think of the Griffith so far?"

"It's nice. Thank you for recommending this place to me," Peggy said.

"You're welcome. I think you and Sarah will really like it here."

"I think we will too."

After a minute passed Angie spoke again. "You're a good mom, Peg. I hope you know that."

Peggy smiled. "You think so."

"Oh yeah, I mean you work so hard to support that little girl and then you spend practically every minute you're off with her. I can only hope when I'm a mother I'm half as good as you."

"Thank you, Angie."

"Don't mention it. It's the truth."

The two women then launched into a discussion about many things and kept it light which Peggy desperately needed after a rough day of work. Make that the last couple days of work. Between trying to track down Howard's weapons and then the death of her coworker Ray Krzeminski. It had been not stop, but finally Peggy had the chance to relax and breath.

They continued to talk until it was a little after eleven, when it was decided to call it a night.

"Goodnight Angie. Thanks for bringing the schnapps."

"No problem. Night English," Angie said, before leaving the apartment.

* * *

The brief period of peace for Peggy didn't last long. In fact it came to an abrupt halt when Jarvis informed her that Howard would be coming back to the United States and would be sneaking in on a cargo ship. On the night that Howard was to be arriving in New York, Peggy left her apartment with Sarah in her arms, to bring her to Angie who agreed to watch her while Peggy was out.

"Hi Peggy."

Peggy spun around after locking her door to see her new neighbor Dottie coming down the hallway.

"Hello Dottie," Peggy greeted.

"Are you heading out?"

"Yes, my boss called me in. It's chaos at work I'm afraid."

"Aw well, you have a good night Peggy," Dottie said, before reaching out to touch Sarah's hand. "She's such a sweetheart."

"Have a good night Dottie," Peggy said. Then gave a nod before continuing down the hall to Angie's apartment and knocked on the door.

"There you are."

"Hello Angie, thanks for doing this on such short notice."

"Oh, it's my pleasure," Angie said, taking hold of Sarah.

Peggy smiled before leaving, though admittedly she felt somewhat guilty for pawning Sarah off on her friend at ten at night. She could only hope that it wouldn't be long before she was back home with her child. That is if Howard arrived safely and the transaction with the man who shipped Howard back to the States went smoothly. Though, knowing her friend Howard, Peggy was sure things would get much more involved than she would like.

* * *

Of course Peggy's suspicion about the night turning out to be more involved than she would have liked came to pass. Howard had arrived safely but on the way to one of Howard's apartments they found that a few SSR agents had been tasked with watching the place. Which led to Peggy making the difficult decision of sneaking Howard into the Griffith. Which was quite the task in of itself. One that become even more of a one when Miss Fry had caught her in the laundry room at almost three in the morning.

After getting Howard safety into her apartment, Peggy leaned against the closed door with her eyes shut and took in a long breath.

When she finally opened them she saw Howard walking around the apartment, looking the place over.

"This is a nice place you got here, Peggy."

"Howard, may I remind you that if you're to stay here you can't wander off," Peggy said.

Howard smirked, thinking about the girl he had been with while Peggy was making her way upstairs.

"Ah Peg, where's your sense of humor?"

"Howard, I'm not kidding."

"Alright, I got it," Howard said turning back toward her. "I'll stay put. You won't even know I'm here."

"I doubt that," Peggy remarked. "I'm going to go get Sarah from my friend's. Wash that lipstick off your face while I'm gone."

Howard reached up and started to try and rub the lipstick marks off his face while Peggy went over to Angie's apartment. Angie had left the door unlocked so Peggy could come in later to pick up Sarah. After reaching the door all she had to do was tip-toe inside the apartment.

After gathering up Sarah, who had been sleeping on a chair in between two pillows she quietly left the apartment and returned to her own. When she walked back in, Howard looked up from his place at the desk to see Peggy standing there holding Sarah. He then stood up as he laid eyes on his friend's baby for the first time, while Peggy rocked in place to ensure that her daughter stayed asleep.

"So this is Sarah?"

"This is Sarah," Peggy replied, looking at her friend's amazed expression as he stared at the baby.

"Wow Peg, she's beautiful."

"Thank you," Peggy said, continuing to gently rock the baby as Sarah stretched in her arms before relaxing back into sleep.

"Wow, she's like a real person, huh?"

Peggy chuckled a little bit and then gave a little nod. "Funny how that works, isn't it?"

"You know what I mean, Peg."

"I do." Peggy then walked passed her friend and set Sarah down in her crib for the remainder of the night. "Well, I should get some sleep before work."

"Of course," Howard said, sitting back down in the chair. "I'll be good here."

Peggy then moved to lay down on her bed, not bothering to go change into her night dress because she was so tired.

"Goodnight Howard."

"Night."

Peggy then turned off the light by her bedside and as they lay there in the dark, she couldn't help but think about another time, over a year ago. A time when she, Howard, Steve, and the 107th camped outside together during the war.

Before she knew it, her eyes fluttered back open when light started filtering in through the curtains and she could hear the familiar sounds of Sarah cooing. When she sat up and looked over she was greeted by Howard's face as he sat in the chair holding Sarah in his arms.

"Morning," Howard greeted.

"Morning," Peggy replied, swinging her feet over the side of the bed. "Did you sleep at all?"

"I did, and when I woke up I saw that she was awake. I hope you don't mind me…"

Peggy shook her head, saying it was okay that he had taken the baby out of her crib.

"Not at all. She looks very content."

"I think she likes her, Uncle Howard," Howard said looking back at the baby.

"I think she does," Peggy said, walking over to them.

"I can decide who she looks more like, you or Steve."

Peggy's eyes then connected with Howard's before she replied. "Steve."

Howard nodded. "Of course, you're right."

The room went silent for a minute as they both thought about Steve before Peggy spoke again.

"I'll take her, she's probably hungry."

"Yeah," Howard replied, still thinking about the friend who was now lost to both of them before handing over the daughter of said friend to her mother.

* * *

When Peggy's shift was over she walked through the door to her apartment with Sarah in one arm.

"Howard, where are you this time?" She called when she didn't see her friend upon entering the room.

"Just in here Peg," Howard said, emerging from the bathroom.

"Good. You finally learned not to wander off." Howard gave her a shrug, which grabbed her attention right away. "Howard, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Howard moved across the room to sit in the chair that he had been occupying throughout most of his stay. Peggy then placed Sarah in her crib before turning back around to face him.

"Howard. Tell me."

Howard looked up at his friend's no-nonsense expression before swallowing, hard.

"All of my inventions are in your lab."

Peggy crossed her arms in front of her. "Then why is your mustache so sad?"

"Cause I need you to steal one of them back."

"Oh Howard," Peggy sighed.

"Sorry Peggy, but trust me this particular invention should not be in the hands of the SSR."

Peggy knitted her eyebrows. "And why would that be?"

"Just because…It's for the best, okay," Howard said.

"Well, if I'm going to steal this item, I'm going to need more to go on."

Howard then pulled out a picture from his coat pocket and handed it to her. Peggy took it and looked at the photograph from the lab of the invention in question, that she had taken earlier that day during her lunch break. The invention was a sphere shape with a single button located in the front of it.

"I call it the Blitzkrieg Button."

"Sounds delightful," Peggy said. "What does it do?"

"That's not important, Please, Peg. Just bring it back to me and whatever you do, don't open it."

Peggy sighed. "Oh, all right. I'll go call Jarvis. Do you mind watching her for a minute?" Peggy asked, gesturing to the crib.

"I got her," Howard said.

Very soon after Peggy left, Sarah started making noises so Howard went to go pick her up, hoping to avoid the waterworks. There was no way he would be able to handle a screaming baby.

"Hey kid, it's okay, Uncle Howard's got you. That does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" Howard asked the baby with a little smirk on his face.

He glanced over Sarah's features again and smiled when she reached over to grab at his shirt. Peggy was right, she did look a lot like Steve.

"You're a cute little thing, aren't you, Sarah? I knew your father, you know. He was a pal of mine," Howard told the baby. "I'm so sorry I couldn't find him for you and your mom…Oh boy, your mother is going to kill me if she finds out what's in there."

* * *

When Peggy returned from the SSR with the Blitzkrieg Button safety in her possession, all Howard had to do was look at his friend's face to know what had happened. She had opened it.

"You opened it."

Peggy stepped closer to Howard, never breaking eye contact. "What's in the vial?"

"Peggy."

"What's in the vial, Howard?"

Howard then took in a breath and shifted his weight from leg to leg.

"You know. We both do," Howard said.

"I don't," Peggy replied. "Tell me."

"Steve Rogers's blood."

Peggy stared at him for what seemed like an eternity when in reality it was only a few seconds before she reacted. The next thing Howard knew, her fist was colliding with his face.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Ouch," Howard said holding his cheek as he recovered from Peggy's slap.

Peggy meanwhile had stepped away from Howard and walked to the tiny kitchen area and grabbed some ice for his cheek.

"Here."

"Thanks," Howard replied, and watched as Peggy walked away again and began pacing around the room. Then after a few but long minutes of silence she finally spoke.

"How could you?"

"Look I'm sorry! I didn't have a choice. You wouldn't have gotten it for me if I told you what it was."

"So you choose to lie to me," Peggy yelled.

"You hit me!"

Peggy shook her head and felt tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"You don't get to use my reaction to your lies as a reason for your lies."

"Yeah, I do because I know how much Steve meant to you because I know how much he means to me," Howard insisted. "I was protecting you and Sarah."

"Oh don't pretend this is about me and my emotions. You were out to protect you and don't you dare bring Sarah into this."

"You should see this inner turmoil that you're in, look at you."

Peggy felt as though she had reached her breaking point and wasn't sure she could stop the tears that were sure to run down her face at any minute.

"I trusted you, Howard!"

"I know and I was wrong…. Peggy, look, I'm really sorry. I really was trying to protect you and your daughter."

Peggy sighed, feeling a tear start down her face.

"You didn't have to lie to me."

"I know. Maybe I should have told you. Things were crazy when the war was ending, then you had the baby and I…" Howard said. "I guess that's really no excuse. You deserved to know."

"Why did you have Steve's blood in the first place?" Peggy asked.

"I was one of the lead scientists on Project Rebirth. Eleven vials went to the government and one went to me. The government's almost through their supply though, mine is the only one left. I think we both can agree that they shouldn't have it"

"Maybe…but that doesn't mean you deserve to have Steve's blood."

"Look Peg, I believe that blood. Captain America's blood holds the key to vaccines, medications and maybe even the cure for the common cold. Steve Rogers may not still be with us but he can still save millions of lives," Howard explained.

"And how many millions are you set to make?"

"What?" Howard questioned. "Is that really what you think of me?"

"Steve Rogers, dedicated his life, his mind, his body to this county. Not to your bank account," Peggy said.

"Peggy I…" Howard said. "I wasn't trying to diminish Steve's memory in any way. I was just trying to have something good come out of his death."

"It already has."

"Sarah." Howard nodded and sighed. "Of course. She is the most important thing."

"Yes, she is," Peggy said. "And because of who her father was, I have to lie for her own safety."

Howard closed his eyes, feeling guilty for all of this, since he hadn't thought about that aspect of it. Peggy was trying to protect her daughter. Sarah was clearly half the reason why Peggy was so upset about all this and Howard couldn't blame her. While he knew next to nothing about being a parent, he did understand Peggy's need to protect Sarah.

"Peggy I…"

"I'm going out for a walk…" Peggy said while moving toward the door. "I want you out by the time I get back."

"Peggy."

"No. You can't stay here anymore."

"But what if I get caught?"

"You're the genius, you figure it out," Peggy said, adjusting her coat before leaving the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

The next day, Peggy took Sarah for a walk through Central Park. After walking around for a bit, Peggy paused and moved to sit down on a bench that overlooked the large pond in front of her. She then leaned over to check on Sarah in the baby carriage right beside her. While she was adjusting the blanket, Peggy heard footsteps behind her and then turned around to see Jarvis standing there.

"Miss Carter," he greeted.

"Mr. Jarvis."

Jarvis then came around to sit down on the bench next to her.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Mr. Jarvis?"

"I wanted to inform you that Mr. Stark has left the country," Jarvis said. "And he wanted me to apologize to you."

"Apologize? So you know what he asked me to steal then?"

"Well…yes I do. I'm sorry, I kept it from you. I didn't know what to say and Mr. Stark…"

"Really? Mr. Jarvis. How hard is it to say Mr. Stark wants you to steal Captain America's blood?" Oh look, it is possible," Peggy said, sarcastically.

"Mr. Stark can be thoughtless, immature, and he does make mistakes but he is a good man."

Peggy sighed then moved to stand up. "That doesn't make it okay that he lied to me."

"No, it doesn't," Jarvis agreed, glancing at the baby carriage which didn't go unnoticed by Peggy.

"You know, don't you? Howard told you."

Jarvis nodded. "Yes."

Revealing that he did in fact know that Steve Rogers was Sarah's father. Peggy wasn't angry that Howard had told Jarvis, she would have been surprised if he hadn't. Given that he had tasked Jarvis with helping her locate his weapons. Now that they were found, she suspected that she would see less of the butler.

"Well, I should be going now. Goodbye, Mr. Jarvis and thank you for your help."

"You're welcome," Peggy then pulled the baby carriage away from the bench.

"Miss Carter?"

Peggy spun around at the sound of Jarvis's voice. "Yes, Mr. Jarvis?"

"I hope you can forgive Mr. Stark in time. I know he cares for you and Sarah very much, even if he doesn't always show it."

Peggy nodded, but didn't say anything more before walking away from the pond and back down the path.

* * *

A week later, Peggy arrived at The Bell Company after having breakfast with her neighbor Dottie.

"Good morning, Rose."

The older woman looked over and smiled. "Morning Peggy."

Rose then pulled the level that opened the hidden elevator that led to the SSR and Peggy stepped inside and went up to the office. As Peggy walked toward her desk, she saw her coworker, Daniel sitting at his desk going over paperwork.

"Hello Daniel."

"Hi," he greeted as she walked on over to her desk behind his and hung up her coat.

Peggy then glanced over into one of the meeting rooms to see Dooley and Agent Thompson talking, or more like arguing with a man she had never seen before.

"Daniel, who is that?"

Daniel glanced over to see who his coworker was talking about. "That's a code breaker from Arlington. Dooley called him in after a message was sent to that typewriter we found. Looks like it's not going so well, by the look of things.

"No it doesn't," Peggy agreed.

Peggy then proceeded to walk over to the meeting room and let herself in.

Less than ten minutes later, Peggy emerged from the room and gave Daniel a smile before sitting at her desk.

"You broke the code. Didn't you?"

Peggy nodded and Sousa chuckled in reply before getting back to work as their boss Dooley approached them.

"Carter, in my office now," Dooley said.

"Yes, sir." Peggy moved to stand, before following her boss into his office. "Sir, have you agreed to my request to go to Russia?"

"Not yet," Dooley said. "Look Carter, you're a good code breaker and I don't doubt you're qualified but this is putting me in the very difficult situation."

"I understand that but sir there's no one more qualified for this mission. I was stationed in the European theater for years."

"I'm well aware of that Agent," Dooley said. "Indulge me for a minute. Say something happens to you, then I'm the moron who got a woman killed in action and a mother at that."

Peggy licked her lips, knowing very well that if she did go on this mission, her life would be in danger as it was when she was helping Stark. Despite the risk it would entail she was very determined to go on this mission. After everything that had happened with Stark, she needed to go on a mission where she knew what the objective was. Then perhaps she would feel like she was doing the job she set out to do in the first place when she choose her career. A job like the ones Steve would have done.

"Sir, I appreciate the concern for my well-being and I do understand your position," Peggy said, then a thought came to her. "Sir, what if I could get some assistance on this mission."

"That depends on the assistance. Who did you have in mind?"

"How about the 107th?"

"The 107th," Dooley mused. "Then I'd say pack your bags."

* * *

A little while later, Peggy set foot into the L&amp;L Automat and walked straight over to Angie who was standing behind the counter.

"Hello English, what brings you here?" Angie asked upon seeing her friend.

"Hello Angie, do you have a minute?"

Angie then put down the cloth that she had been holding to give Peggy her full attention. "Sure, what is it?"

"Well, something came up and I have to go out of town for a day or two."

"Oh, is everything okay?"

Peggy thought of an answer really fast before replying. Luckily, she had brainstormed possible explanations for why she was leaving town so unexpectedly on the way there.

"Yes, it's Harrison. He's been a little under the weather so I thought I'd go to DC and look in on him," Peggy explained.

Angie nodded. "And you were wondering if I'd watch Sarah for you?"

Angie got the feeling that Peggy didn't want to take Sarah with her if her brother had been ill.

"Yes, I was. Angie, would you mind terribly? I already talked to Mary, who will of course watch her during the day. So if you don't mind taking her after you get off work I'd greatly appreciate it."

"Of course, English," Angie said.

"Thank you so much, Angie. I owe you one."

Angie shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'm happy to. It's good practice for when I have one of my own someday."

"Great, Well, I should be going. I'm going to drop by the Griffith and see Sarah before I go."

Angie nodded. "I'll see you in a day or so, English. Call if you decide to stay longer."

"I will," Peggy said, waving goodbye to her friend before walking back out the door.

* * *

Before too long Peggy arrived in Russia and was reunited with her friends, the Howling Commandos. It was so nice to be reunited with the boys after not seeing them since the closing of the war in Europe. Seeing her friends brought back a lot of memories, good memories for the most part despite the memories of the hard decisions they had to make, ones that made them all not sleep so well at night. That was war, they compromised, but she hoped their deeds had made the world a safer place.

Despite Peggy's delight at being reunited with old friends she found herself missing her daughter. This was the first time she had been away from Sarah for an extended period of time. It was harder than she could have ever imagined it would be. She missed looking into Sarah's blue eyes and feeling the baby's weight in her arms already. Half of her wanted to go back home to New York and hold her child but she had a job to do first. She had fought so hard to get to go on this mission in the first place. So she would do her job to the best of her abilities then go home and be with her daughter once again.

Peggy's attention was then brought out of her thoughts when Dum-Dum Dugan came to sit beside her in the truck.

"Did you bring what I asked for?"

Peggy reached into her pack and pulled out a bottle of bourbon. "It's from my own private stash."

"Attagirl," Dugan said, taking the bottle. "Thanks Peg,"

"You're welcome. I'm sure you boys have more use for it than I do."

"Who said anything about me sharing with the boys?"

Peggy laughed and shook her head.

"Nah, they can have a sip or two," Dugan said.

"How generous of you, Dugan,"

"I try,"

Dugan then opened the bottle and took a large swig from it.

"Easy there, Dugan," Peggy said, just as Dugan choked a little on the drink.

"Ah, as good as I remember," Dugan said. "So Peg, is being back here bringing back memories?"

"It is, yes," Peggy mused. As she thought about traveling with the Howling Commandos over a year ago, yet again.

"Good times."

"Yes, they were." Peggy nodded and her voice faltered at the end as she thought of Steve, who was as always never far from her thoughts.

"Hey, I bet you've been making some wonderful new memories with that sweet baby of yours," Dugan said, sensing that the mood needed to be lightened.

Which seemed to work well as Peggy's face brightened back up at the mention of her daughter.

"Indeed I have. I can't imagine my life without Sarah. She's lovely."

"Spoken like a true mother," Dugan said. "Ah, I can't wait to meet that kid."

"I can't wait for you all to meet her too."

"It's about time, I think. Maybe after this is over we can come to New York for a little R&amp;R. I know I wouldn't mind some," Dugan said. "For the meantime though, please tell me you brought a picture of that baby."

"I did." Peggy then reached into the front pocket of her jacket and retrieved a picture of Sarah that she had brought with her. For herself and to show to the Howling Commandos, knowing that they would want to see one.

Dugan took the picture in his hands and studied it for a minute before a big smile broke out on his face.

"Oh Peggy, she's beautiful," Dugan said. "Very good looking kid. Though I'm not surprised."

Peggy smiled in reply.

Dugan then paused for a minute before speaking again. "Does she take after him in all?"

Peggy took in a breath. "It's really too soon to tell, but she does remind me of him."

Dugan nodded. "I imagine she would. Are you doing okay, Peg? With everything?"

Peggy looked over at Dugan and saw concern written all over his face.

"I'm okay, Dugan. It's hard without Steve, yes," Peggy admitted. "I do the best I can, given the circumstances."

"I'm really sorry Peg," Dugan said. "I know without a doubt that Steve would be with you and your little girl right now… if things were different."

"I know, he would."

Peggy thought about that a lot. How could she not really? Every once and awhile she would wonder what her life would be like if Steve was still alive. She knew that he would have adored Sarah, and that was almost enough to break Peggy's heart.

"I miss him too."

"The world keeps moving I guess, I have Sarah and I'll be here to tell her stories about her father. So she can at least know him that way."

Dugan smiled "I bet she'll love that. The boys and I will gladly tell her stories about Steve too. "

"I'm sure she will love that," Peggy said. "I am glad she'll get to know you and the boys, and Howard. No matter how much of a wanker he is."

Dugan chuckled. "Ah, I've really missed you Peg,"

Dugan then proceeded to light a cigar and just as he lit it, Peggy took it and tossed it out the window.

"You smell bad enough," Peggy insisted.

It indeed felt just like old times for the Howling Commandos and Peggy, despite how much things had changed since the last time they were together.

* * *

The next day the group carried out their mission, though they experienced some complications and as a result lost a Howling Commando as well as Agent Lee. After it was over Peggy was just thankful to be out of Russia. She was exhausted and couldn't wait to get home and see her daughter. She was also glad that Dum-Dum was going to come visit her in New York at the end of the week along with some of the boys. Whichever knuckleheads were able to come back to the States with him, he had told her.

When she finally arrived in New York after a long plane ride, Peggy reported to the SSR along with Agent Thompson and Agent Ramirez. Before she left the chief's office she made sure to put in a good word for Howard. Letting Dooley know that there was nothing to suggest that Stark was directly involved with Leviathan. Peggy hoped Howard would be in better standing with the SSR and US government now, wanker though he may be.

Dooley then surprised her on her way out by saying, "Good work, Carter."

"Thank you, sir," Peggy said, stuttering a little bit due to shock.

She then grabbed her coat and headed out of the office and the New York Bell Company to go spend the rest of the night with her daughter.

After arriving home, Peggy practically burst through the doors to the Griffith. She then proceeded to make her way upstairs to Angie's apartment and knocked on the door.

When the door opened, Angie appeared in the doorway holding Sarah in her arms, having been expecting her friend to arrive soon. Since Peggy had called her earlier to say she'd be home within the hour after she checked in at work.

"Hi English. Look who it is, Sarah. It's your mommy,"

Peggy then took Sarah into her arms and kissed her forehead. "My darling."

"She missed you. She was a good girl though."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it."

"I'll see you two girls later," Angie said, sensing the mother and daughter needed some time alone.

"Thanks Angie."

Angie mouthed "You're welcome" before Peggy walked back to her apartment.

Once inside her apartment, Peggy looked Sarah over to make sure that she hadn't changed while she was away. It seemed a little silly since she had only been gone for two days but still, she had to make sure. As soon as the three month's old's eyes connected with her mothers, she smiled brightly.

"Oh, Sarah, I missed you so much," Peggy said, tickling her daughter's little chin.

As her mother ran her finger down her chubby cheek, Sarah proceeded to put her fist in her mouth and moved the other one to rest on Peggy's chest. Peggy then started rubbing the baby's back gently as she swayed in place for a couple minutes, just gazing at her daughter as she settled in her arms.

"I love you, darling," Peggy whispered. "I'm sorry I was away. It's part of my job, but I promise you I will always come home to you. You don't have to worry about that. You know something, it was nice to see your father's friends again, my friends again. They're so excited to meet you, sweetheart."

Peggy then moved to sit on her bed while cuddling with the baby and began to tell her stories about the Howling Commandos. Though Sarah couldn't understand what her mother was telling her, she continued to rest contently against Peggy's chest and gazed up at her. For Peggy, she just enjoyed being able to share these stories with her daughter. Knowing that one day, when Sarah was older, she would tell them again.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.**

**Next chapter: The Howling Commandos will finally meet baby Sarah among other things.**


	10. Chapter 10

Legacy

Chapter 10

Peggy stirred her coffee as she sat in her usual booth at the Automat one evening while she waited for her dinner. She then brought the cup up to her lips and took a sip, before glancing over at the clock above the kitchen. Normally, she wouldn't be in too much of a rush to leave but tonight she had some very important people to go visit. Dugan and the other Howling Commandos had arrived safely in New York a few hours ago and Peggy had arranged to meet up with them at their hotel later that evening. She was so excited to see her friends, so obviously, she didn't want to be late. Luckily, she still had about thirty minutes left before they were expecting her. Plenty of time to eat dinner and catch a cab over to the hotel.

Peggy then grabbed the evening paper from the table and had only begun to read over the front page when Sarah let out a cry from the space next to Peggy, where she had been sleeping since they arrived at the diner. The young woman reacted quickly, and scooped up her daughter and rocked her until the baby calmed down.

"Shhh Sarah. It's okay. I've got you." Sarah let out a whimper as she quieted down, while her mother continued to rock her and pat her back. "You'll be a good girl tonight, won't you? I know some people who are very much looking forward to meeting you. Hmm. What do you say?"

Sarah then crinkled her eyebrows and started playing with her hands contently. Peggy smiled, confident that the baby's fussy moment had passed and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"There's my good girl," Peggy said.

A few seconds later, she heard footsteps and looked away from her daughter to see Angie walking over to them with her dinner.

"Here you go, English," Angie said, placing the plate in front of Peggy.

"Thank you, Angie."

"You're welcome. Can I get you anything else?"

"No, thank you. I'm good for now."

"Good, cause I'm off the clock," Angie said, sitting across from her friend. She then closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief upon sitting down. It was just what she needed after spending almost the whole day on her feet.

"Long day?" Peggy questioned.

Angie nodded. "Oh yes, very long. I can't wait to go home and get myself into a bath but I'll stay and chat with you for a while."

"I appreciate the company." Peggy then adjusted Sarah so she could eat her meal easier.

"So, what are you two ladies doing tonight?"

"Well, a few of my old friends are in town for a few days, so we're going to go pay them a visit."

"That sounds lovely. Are these friends from England?"

"Yes, well, one of them is English." Angie gave her look that suggested she was a little confused. "I met them during the war."

"Oh," Angie nodded. "Where did you meet them?"

"Work," Peggy answered, simply.

"I see. Sounds like it's been a while since you last saw them then."

"It has been, I haven't seen them since the war in Europe ended." Peggy licked her lips, wondering if she should tell Angie more. Then after a beat decided that she could, as she did trust her friend. "They were Steve's friends too. That's how I know them, actually."

Angie's mouth hung open for a minute as she hadn't been expecting Peggy to mention Sarah's father. Seeing that he didn't typically enter their conversations, so it was a little shocking for Angie to hear Peggy say his name. Once and while Peggy would of course mention him, but not on a regular basis. Though she was curious to learn more about him, Angie didn't pry, out of respect for her friend.

"Oh really?" Peggy nodded. "Well, that's nice. They must be looking forward to meeting this little girl here then"

"Oh they are. I think they're going to spoil her."

Angie chuckled. "Well a cutie-pie like her deserves it."

Peggy glanced at the baby still resting happily in her arms before replying "She does and I'll allow it, to an extent," Peggy said with a chuckle. "I'm just glad Sarah will have them in her life, especially since…since Steve isn't around."

"Aw honey." Angie reached out to squeeze her friend's hand. "I know how much you miss him. I do think that it's good that Sarah will have people in her life who knew her father, besides you of course."

Peggy nodded and took a deep breath. "Yes and it is important to me that Sarah knows about her father, as much as she can anyway."

"Of course, it is," Angie said. Then thought of a way to try and lighten the mood. "Hey, I'm sure he'd be thrilled that his friends are about to meet his daughter."

"Yes, yes he would," Peggy said with a smile.

"There you go. See, Peggy, you're never alone. We're all here for you and Sarah."

* * *

After finishing her dinner, Peggy said goodnight to Angie and then hopped in a cab, and soon arrived at the hotel where the Howling Commandos were staying.

Once she was inside the building she asked the man at the front desk what room Dugan was staying in. Knowing that's where they would all be, before proceeding over to the elevator until she arrived on the 14th floor.

Peggy then walked down the hall until she found the room she was looking for. As she stepped closer to the door, she took a deep breath and looked down at Sarah, who was resting over her shoulder while sucking on her pacifier.

"Are you ready?" Peggy asked the baby while smoothing her hair.

After a moment passed, Peggy finally moved to knock on the door. The next thing she heard was shuffling coming from inside the room, which made her roll her eyes, knowing that the boys were trying to straighten up for her. While she did appreciate the gesture, she did find it a bit silly, seeing that she had camped with them multiple times and joined them for card games so she knew what they were like. So all things considered she did find the gesture a bit ridiculous, though very sweet on their part.

When the clanging around from inside the room finally ceased, she heard the door click open and Dum-Dum's smiling face appeared in the doorway.

"Hi Peggy," he greeted.

"Hi Dugan. Nice to see you. How was your trip?"

"Long, but it's good to be back in the States," Dugan said. "Hey, I finally remembered the code-word from Russia. It was ostrich wasn't it?"

Peggy nodded. "Six days, that is quite the delayed reaction there, Dugan."

Dugan gave her a quick shrug in response.

"Oh now you remember," Peggy heard Pinky Pinkerton's voice say from inside the room. "Did you not hear me yell that to you back in Russia?"

"Give me a break, we were in enemy territory that night," Dugan yelled, then turned back to Peggy. "Come on in, Peg. I'm sure the rest of these morons would like to see you."

Peggy chuckled and shook her head before following him into the hotel room. As she entered the living room area of the suite, she laid eyes on all her friends.

"Carter," she heard Jim Morita and Gabe Jones call from the table they were sitting at.

"Hello, Jim, Gabe, Pinkerton," Peggy said, looking around the room again, greeting all her friends. "Sam."

It felt so nice to see all the boys again and together in one room. Peggy instantly felt so relieved by the very sight of them. She had been worried about all of them while they were overseas, even Dugan, Pinky, and Sam who she had just been reunited with a few days prior. Just seeing all of the Howling Commandos in front of her, brought her such happiness. So much so that Peggy wasn't sure she could stop a tear from going down her face.

"Well, this brings back old memories, doesn't it?" Dugan said, then glanced over to look at the baby in Peggy's arms. "Except now we have a little person in the room, don't we fellas?"

Peggy smiled and moved to reposition the baby so the Howling Commandos could get a better look at her. The boys' eyes then all quickly focused on little Sarah, as they scanned her face, obviously looking for any similarities between the baby and her parents.

"Boys, I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, Sarah," Peggy said. "Sarah, these are some very good friends of mine, who are still fighting for the title of uncle I believe."

The Howling Commandos then all let out a chuckle.

"Excuse me, but I thought that I had called that position," Gabe said.

"No way," Jim remarked.

"You all can be her uncles. I'm sure Steve would have liked that," Peggy said.

The room then grew quiet for a minute, as they all felt the loss of Steve fill the space. It was like a brick of emotions had been dropped on them. It was a feeling that Peggy could tell by the looks on all of their faces that they knew they would have to feel sooner rather than later.

"Yeah, he would," Dugan agreed and the others nodded in reply. "Okay, well now that the title of uncle is settled. Come on, fellas, how about we enjoy our time with these two ladies?"

The rest of boys then nodded in response before answering with a resounding, "Yeah."

"I'll get you a drink, Carter," Pinkerton said. "What would you like?"

"Oh, just some water for me, thank you."

Pinkerton gave her a nod before he continued on into the little kitchenette area of the suite.

Peggy eyes then drifted over to Sam and to her surprise, she saw him smiling. She then looked down and saw Sarah smiling back at him as she waved her small hands in the air.

"She's a beautiful child," Happy Sam Sawyer remarked, clearing his throat.

"Sam, did my eyes deceive me or was that a smile?" Peggy asked.

"What? Of course not," Sam said regaining his composure.

"No, that was a smile," Dugan agreed, joining the conversation.

"Okay, it was but it was for Sarah. Let's not make a big deal out of it," Sam replied, reverting back to his normal stoic expression.

Dugan chuckled then turned to Peggy. "She's a lucky girl, getting a smile out of that man."

Peggy nodded and kissed Sarah's head.

"Hey, Peggy, can I hold her?" Gabe asked.

"Hey, I was about to ask that," Jim said.

"Well I asked first."

"But I'm the only one of us who's held a baby recently."

"Oh yeah, who was that?" Gabe questioned.

"My baby cousin."

Peggy then came over to them and started to pass Sarah over to Gabe. "You boys, take turns. You'll all get to hold her."

"I suppose that's fair," Gabe said, then took Sarah into his arms and brought her up to rest against his chest. "Come here, sweetie."

While the boys all took turns holding Sarah, Peggy took the time to catch up with each one of them.

About an hour later, after talking with Pinkerton about how things were going back in England. Peggy walked over to the balcony when she spotted Dugan standing there with Sarah, looking out over the city.

"What's that?" Dugan asked the baby, as they looked in the direction of the various skyscrapers around them. He then turned around when he sensed someone behind him. "Oh, hey, Peggy."

"Hi, how are you two doing?" Peggy asked before mouthing "hi" to the baby when Sarah turned in the direction of her mother's voice.

"We're good."

"She's not getting cranky, is she?"

"Nah, she's fine," Dugan said, then his face broke out into a huge smile. "She's even cuter than her picture."

Peggy smiled in reply and nodded. "Mmhmm."

"She does look like him. I can definitely see some of Steve in her," Dugan said, gently poking Sarah's nose.

"Yes, you can," Peggy said looking at her daughter.

"And she's as beautiful as her mother."

Peggy smiled. "Thank you, Dugan."

"My pleasure, I know you're probably tired of hearing this, hell I've said it to you a few times already, but I am so sorry Peggy. It's not fair that he's not here to see her."

"I appreciate that Timothy. No, it's not fair, but…" Peggy sighed. "He died saving the world and ended up protecting his daughter in the process, as it turned out."

"That he did," Dugan said then after a moment spoke again. "Ah, I am so glad I've finally gotten to meet this little girl. I know the boys are enjoying it as well."

"Yes, they do seem happy."

"And it's nice to be all together again," Dugan said. "We did have fun together, didn't we? During our off hours, anyway."

"Yes, we did," Peggy agreed.

_Two years prior. _

_Peggy walked into the large recreation room at the SSR base in London to see the Howling Commandos and Howard in the middle of a card game. She was a little shocked to see them at first, but then remembered having been informed of their return while she had been in various meetings earlier that day. _

_Peggy's eyes then caught sight of Steve as he walked over to the side table to poor himself a drink. She hadn't seen him in over a month, in person, anyway. She had seen him along with the others, in the films they would be shown of the Howling Commandos missions. One of which, that had revealed that he kept a picture of her in his compass. Something, that had taken Peggy completely off guard, but she couldn't deny how happy it had made her. She then took in a breath before going over to him._

"_Captain," Peggy greeted. _

"_Agent Carter," Steve said after turning around to face her. "Nice to see you." _

"_Nice to see you too." _

_It was true, she was happy to see him. Only then did she realize how relieved she was that he was standing in front of her, safe and sound. _

"_Would you like a drink?" _

"_Yes please," Peggy replied. Steve then poured another drink and handed it to her. "Thank you." _

"_You're welcome." _

_The two of them then stayed silent for a minute as they listened to the card game going on at the other end of the room. _

"_Sounds like they're having fun," Peggy remarked. _

"_Oh yeah, they are. We are. It's nice having some down time," Steve said, glancing over at his friends briefly as Bucky shouted excitedly, signaling that he had just won a hand. _

_Then after another moment of silence, Peggy spoke. "So, how's the shield working out for you?" _

_Steve nearly choked on his drink before letting out a chuckle. "It works."_

_Peggy let out a chuckle as well and gave him a little smile. Steve was so relieved to see that she didn't seem to be angry about the incident where she had caught Phillips's secretary kissing him anymore. He still felt so bad about the whole thing and had been a little nervous to speak to her again. As he searched Peggy eyes to make sure she indeed wasn't angry anymore, he was sure that she wasn't. All he saw was happiness there. _

_He liked seeing Peggy smile, and seeing her smile prompted his lips to turn upwards again. _

"_So how have you been, Peggy?" _

"_Good."_

"_Good," Steve replied and opened his mouth to say something else, when Bucky walked over to them and interrupted his train of thought. _

"_Hey Steve, we're about to start a pushup contest and thought it was only right if our leader, Captain America started us off." _

_Steve glanced over at Peggy. "Well…Alright then. Guess, I can't say no to that." _

_Bucky then patted him on the back. "Come on, pal."_

"_Agent Carter, would you like to join us?" Dugan asked. _

"_Yes, Peggy, join us," Howard agreed. _

"_Sure, why not." _

After another half an hour had elapsed Peggy decided to take Sarah home before it got too late and the baby got cranky. As soon as she had finished giving a hug to each one of the Howling Commandos, Dugan walked over to her with Sarah in his arms.

"Here you are," Dugan said, handing Sarah back to her mother. "Thank you for bringing her by."

"Yes, thank you, Peggy," Gabe echoed and the others nodded in agreement.

"You're welcome. It's great to see all of you again. I hope we can do this again soon."

"We hope so too," Dugan said.

"Over a year is far too long," Pinkerton added.

"It is," Peggy agreed. "Maybe I'll see you boys again before you go back to Europe."

"We'd like that very much, Peggy," Dugan said.

"Say, goodnight, Sarah," Peggy said, waving the baby's hand to make her say goodbye and the Howling Commandos waved back.

"Goodnight, Peggy," Gabe said.

"Goodnight." Peggy then turned to leave, though part of her wished she didn't have too.

"Hey, Peg. Have you given anymore thought to the nickname Miss Union Jack? Come on, what do you say?"

Peggy turned around with a serious look on her face. "Not on your life, Dugan."

"Okay," Dugan replied, knowing she would say something like that.

The others then chuckled in response, including Peggy, who gave them one last smile before walking out of the hotel room.

* * *

When Peggy arrived back home with her daughter, she closed the door to the apartment, and flipped on the light switch before turning around to lock the door.

She then made her way over to the vanity and put down her pocketbook. And when she glanced up, she spotted the picture she had of Steve resting against the mirror. Peggy then picked the picture up to look over Steve's face as she thought about the times she spent with Steve and the Howling Commandos.

Then the memory of the night they had ended up having a pushup contest surfaced in her mind. She smiled as she recalled the surprised and amazed expressions on their faces when she had completed her one-hundred and seven, one-armed pushups, which had of course amused her greatly. Peggy then remembered when her eyes had landed on Steve's that night and she found him smiling at her. He had looked so impressed and proud of her that he told the group that they should call it a tie between her and him.

Of course, the group would then go on to have many nights like that one. They were indeed good times, and all such fun as Dugan had said earlier. And now she had a new memory to share with the Howling Commandos, one that included Sarah.

Angie was right when she said that Steve would have been thrilled that his friends had finally gotten to meet his daughter tonight. As Peggy knew without a doubt, that was true.

Sarah then pulled Peggy out of her thoughts when she reached out to take the picture of Steve from her mother. Peggy released her grip on it briefly, letting Sarah hold it for a minute. Before gently pulling it out of the baby's grasp, just as her daughter tried to put it in her mouth.

"Oh, no, you don't young lady," Peggy said. "Come, let's get you into a bath."

Peggy then placed the picture of Steve back on the vanity before giving her child a kiss on her head.

After Sarah was bathed and tucked into bed, Peggy went about getting herself ready for bed. As she walked over to the door to turn off the celling light, something on the floor caught her eyes and she bent down to pick it up. It was the piece of string that she had put on the door knob, to warn her if someone had come into the apartment while she was away. Peggy knitted her eyebrows, as she tried to remember if she had seen it fall to the ground when she came in but she couldn't remember. Even if it had been on the floor when she came home, it was possible that Angie had come in to borrow a book or something. Seeing that she was the only one besides Miss Fry who had a key. So Peggy decided not to worry about it right then, feeling that in any event, she was too tired to worry about it, and she could always ask Angie about it in the morning. Peggy then switched off the celling light and made her way over to her bed to read some before going to sleep.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed the little cameo with Steve and Bucky. **


	11. Chapter 11

Legacy

Chapter 11

The next morning, Peggy walked in through door of the Automat and quickly glanced around the room until she spotted Angie standing behind the counter. She then noticed that her friend's lips were moving as she read over something. It wasn't until Peggy made her way over to Angie that she could make out what her friend was saying. Angie was reciting a monologue from the play _Dollhouse_. Not wanting to interrupt her friend's focus, Peggy quietly placed her pocketbook down on the counter and continued to stand as she listened to Angie's little performance.

Then when Angie finally came to the end of her monologue, Peggy announced her presence.

"Well done, Angie. That was beautiful."

Angie jumped at the sound of Peggy's voice, since she hadn't seen her friend enter the diner.

"Oh thank you, English," Angie said, and then looked around for a baby carriage as Peggy sat down at the counter. "Where's Sarah?"

"I left her with Mary. I wanted to get an early start at work today,"

Angie nodded, as she went about getting Peggy her morning cup of coffee. "Here you go."

"Thank you, Angie."

"You're welcome," Angie said, then something occurred to her. "Speaking of Sarah, I believe she's almost four months old now, isn't she?"

Peggy nodded. "Yes, she is. She will be exactly four months old in two days…Time really is going by fast."

"Tell me about it. Before you know it that little girl will be walking and talking."

"Hopefully not too soon, though."

Peggy then drifted into her thoughts as she tried to imagine her almost four-month-old baby daughter as a child. She smiled to herself as she pictured an older Sarah, running around and talking, knowing that without a doubt she would be beautiful.

Angie then gave a chuckle before she leaned against the counter. "So tell me, how did your visit with your friends go last night?"

"Oh, very well. They adored Sarah."

"Of course they did. She's quite the little charmer."

"That she is. She was able to make one of them, Sam smile, and he hardly ever smiles. So we all considered that to be quite the accomplishment."

"Now that's adorable," Angie said. "Sounds like you had a good night, Peggy."

"I did. It was lovely to see them again."

"I bet," Angie said.

"Hey Angie, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Of course. What is it, English?" Angie asked.

"Were you by any chance in my apartment last night?"

"No, can't say that I was. Why do you ask?"

"Oh no reason, it's probably just my imagination," Peggy said, not wanting to alarm Angie.

The feeling that someone had been in her apartment hadn't left her mind since she had awoken that morning. Of course, when she had woken up, it was just a feeling, but it was one that she couldn't seem to shake. And now at hearing that it wasn't Angie, she felt even more uneasy about the whole thing.

Angie nodded, "I understand. Hey, if you're really worried about it, you could always ask Miriam about it, she might know."

"I just might," Peggy said in reply.

Peggy then reached over the counter for some sugar and stirred it into her coffee before taking a sip. As she sipped on her coffee, she began to go over the events of the previous night from when she had returned home to when she found the string on the floor, examining every detail in her head. Trying to determine if there was actually cause to be concerned or maybe her spy instincts were just making her a bit over-zealous.

* * *

A little while later, Peggy arrived at the SSR and walked straight over to her desk, where she was greeted by the mountain of paperwork that her coworkers had left for her to file. After rolling her eyes, she sat down at her desk and went about sorting through the paperwork to be filed away.

"Good morning, Peggy."

At hearing the voice, Peggy looked up to see Daniel walking over to her desk.

"Morning, Daniel," Peggy greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"Do you happen to have the report on Ray's death? The Chief asked me to look over it again."

"Let me check." Peggy then thumbed through the stack of papers on her desk until she found it. "Here you are."

"Thank you."

Daniel then went back over to his desk and began reading over the file while Peggy went back to sorting through paperwork. After a few minutes had passed, Peggy looked up again to see Daniel staring at the paper with a puzzled expression.

"Daniel? What is it?"

"Huh? Oh I just noticed the weapon used isn't one we'd normally see."

"Really?" Peggy questioned, standing up to go over to Daniel's desk. "May I see it?"

"Sure."

Daniel then handed the piece of paper over to Peggy, who proceeded to quickly read over it. Her coworker was indeed right, the weapon that killed Agent Krzeminski was anything but typical. Not only was it a Russian gun, it was also a smaller gun, smaller than what any man would use. Peggy drew in a breath as she realized that the killer could have easily been a woman.

"Daniel, why exactly did the Chief ask you to look over this? Does he suspect Leviathan is involved?"

Daniel nodded. "Yeah, he wanted me to look over the autopsy report to see if there was a connection, given the timing. Truthfully, I feel he was just trying to give me busy work."

"I see."

Peggy looked over the piece of paper again and thought about the little girl back in Russia, and the boarding school that trained young girls to become female agents. Could there be a connection between the girls and Ray's death? It was a little farfetched but Peggy had seen stranger.

"Peggy, what is it? Do you think there's a connection?"

"Maybe," Peggy replied, pondering the idea.

"You should go tell the Chief then."

"Daniel, this was your assignment."

"I know but if you found something, then you should be the one to tell him."

"Thanks, Daniel."

"No problem."

Peggy then left Daniel's side with the paper in hand, and made her way over to the Chief's office and knocked on the door.

"It's open," Dooley called from inside his office.

After hearing her boss's voice, Peggy opened the door and took one step into the room.

"Sir, do you have a minute?" Peggy asked.

"Sure, Carter. What is it?"

"Sir, I wanted to talk you about what we discovered in Russia, with the little girl at the boarding school," Peggy said, coming into the room.

"I'm going to stop you right there, Agent. I get why you're concerned for a child's well-being but there's nothing I can do. And honestly, I don't have time to worry about it, as regrettable as it may be."

"Well, maybe you should because I believe that Leviathan sent a grown one over here. And that is who is responsible for Agent Krzeminski's death."

Dooley looked at her with a very dubious expression. "What on earth would make you think that?"

"I was looking over his autopsy report…"

"Autopsy report? Wasn't that Sousa's detail?"

"It was, I was just assisting him. Anyway, I noticed that the weapon used was a Russian gun..."

"A Russian gun? Carter, that hardly means…" Dooley interrupted.

"Excuse me, sir, but I wasn't quite finished."

"Go on,"

"Well, I noticed that it was a Korvian TK, which is small, making it very suitable for a woman's grip. Which would explain how Howard Stark got involved with this in the first place. Seeing that he is a notorious womanizer."

"Are you finished?" Dooley asked, clearly growing impatient.

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, look Carter, your work in Russian was admirable but I don't have the time or the luxury of chasing down wild theories. Not when Leviathan is out there trying to get their hands on Stark's weapons. So I suggest you get back to your paperwork," Dooley said.

Peggy exhaled, annoyed that her idea was being dismissed without proper examination, but she kept her composure and simply nodded her head in reply.

"Yes, sir."

"Good, you're dismissed Agent."

* * *

When lunchtime came around, Peggy took a cab back to the Griffith, wanting to get away from the office for a little while.

"Good afternoon, Miss Carter."

"Good afternoon, Miss Fry," Peggy greeted, as she strolled through the lobby and headed upstairs.

Once her feet landed on her floor she turned the corner and continued down the hall, until she crossed paths with Dottie, who had just come from an adjoining hall.

"Hi Peggy."

"Hello Dottie. How are you today?"

"Good. I'm just on my way to the dance studio for some practice," Dottie said, gesturing to the bag that hung from her shoulder.

"Oh that sounds lovely," Peggy said. "Well, you have a good day, Dottie."

"You too."

The two women then parted ways and Peggy continued on until she arrived at Mary's apartment and knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, Mary opened the door and smiled upon seeing that it was Peggy at the door.

"Peggy. I wasn't expecting you back so soon. Is everything okay?"

"Oh yes, I just decided to come home during my lunch break and see Sarah."

"Oh, of course, I'll get her for you," Mary said, leaving the door open as she went to go retrieve Sarah from the floor, where she had been playing with Mary's daughter, Lily. Before returning to Peggy, who opened her arms for the baby.

"Thank you. I'll bring her back before I return to the office," Peggy said, after Sarah was in her arms.

"Sounds good. You have a nice lunch, Peggy."

"See you in a bit," Peggy said, before Mary waved goodbye and closed the door.

Peggy then proceeded down the hall to her apartment and as she entered the room, she watched as the string fell to the floor. The young woman then turned her attention to her child and smiled at her.

"What do you think, Sarah? Is your Mummy being overactive?" Peggy asked, adjusting her hold on the baby.

Sarah just cooed in response as she played with her mother's necklace.

"Come on, let's get you a bottle, hmmm."

Peggy then placed the baby down on the bed and handed her a stuffed animal, before heading over to the tiny kitchen area to prepare the bottle. Once it was ready, Peggy returned to the bed and lifted Sarah back into her arms. Sarah took the bottle right away, and happily began drinking while she stared up at Peggy with her big blue eyes.

Peggy smiled while she listened to the sounds her daughter would make as she sucked on the bottle. Her thoughts then drifted back to her conversation with Dooley. She so wished that he hadn't dismissed her theory so early, especially when she thought she could be on to something.

As she watched her daughter, she hoped that no one would treat Sarah that way. Her wish for Sarah was for her to be whatever she wanted to be, and not have her ideas shot-down solely because she was a girl.

After Sarah was finished with her bottle, Peggy proceeded to burp her, before lying her back down on the bed so she could go clean up the little mess she had made in the kitchen in the process of getting the bottle ready.

Once the countertop was cleaned off, and the can of formula was back in the cabinet, Peggy turned around and glanced all around the apartment. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Peggy tapped her fingers against the countertop while she tried to make up her mind on what she should do. Then it occurred to her that she hadn't given the apartment a full once-over since finding the string on the floor. Maybe if she did that, she would be able to have peace of mind.

Peggy then went about looking all over the apartment, checking the hole in the wall to make sure the sphere containing Steve's blood was still there, which it was. When she finally reached the center drawer of her vanity she noticed that her tranquilizer lipstick was missing. At this Peggy felt an uneasy feeling rise up in her.

She then rushed over to her dresser and opened the second door and slid open the false bottom, which held the box that contained the pictures she had taken of Howard's weapons. Peggy then moved to open the box, only to find that it was empty. The pictures were gone. There was no room for doubt anymore, someone had indeed been in her apartment.

Peggy then realized that if someone had managed to break into her apartment to take the pictures of Howard's weapons, than it had to be a woman operative working for Leviathan. No one else would be able to sneak into the Griffith, not with Miriam being the watchdog that she was. With this revelation, Peggy realized that she would have to chase this new information without the SSR's approval. But in order to do that, she knew she would need some more information about Howard. And there was only one person, she knew for certain could help with that. She would have to pay Edwin Jarvis a visit.

* * *

After finding out that the pictures of Howard's weapons were missing, Peggy dropped Sarah back off with Mary, before calling the office to say that she'd be taking the rest of the day off, due to personal matters.

Which thankfully, they didn't object to. Peggy then hopped into a cab and made her way uptown until she arrived at Howard's house. Once she was on the grounds, Peggy knocked on the door of Jarvis and Anna's little house that sat near the main house. A few seconds later she heard movement from inside, followed by Jarvis opening the door. When he caught sight of her, a surprised expression appeared on his face for a moment.

"Hello, Miss Carter."

"Mr. Jarvis."

"Would you like to come in?" Jarvis offered, trying to get passed the awkwardness of the moment.

Peggy nodded, and then stepped into the house as Jarvis moved aside to let her pass.

"Is your wife home, Mr. Jarvis?"

"No, Anna went shopping and should be out for a few hours."

"Good," Peggy trailed off.

"Well, Miss Carter. What can I do for you? I trust you came by with a reason in mind."

"Yes, well."

"Oh, yes, before you start I wanted to say how sorry I am, still, about what transpired when Mr. Stark was last in town," Jarvis said, referring of course to the matter of Howard keeping the vial of Steve's blood a secret from her.

"Apology accepted," Peggy said. "May I speak now?"

"Of course."

"Have you by chance heard from Howard lately?"

"I can't say that I have. I believe he's been rather tied up in… Rio," Jarvis said, clearing his throat at the end.

"I see," Peggy said, with a little roll of the eyes.

"Is there any news with the SSR and their investigation? Has he been cleared yet?"

Peggy shook her head. "Not yet, another problem has surfaced, I'm afraid."

"Oh dear," Jarvis said, bracing himself for whatever she was about to tell him.

"Someone has stolen the pictures of Howard's weapons from my apartment, someone I believe to be a female Russian operative."

"Oh, well, that's very alarming."

"Yes, I was in Russia just last week and we encountered one of these girls, a child, who was being trained as an operative. Then after I saw that the weapon used to kill Agent Krezminski was a Russian gun. I started thinking that maybe the two were connected and that it was possible that Leviathan sent an adult female agent to collect Mr. Stark's weapons," Peggy explained.

"That's a very interesting theory, Miss Carter."

"Yes, and we both know that a female agent could easily explain how Howard became involved in the first place, considering that Howard's major weakness is…."

"Women."

"Exactly. So now I need your help, Mr. Jarvis."

"I'll help in any way I can, Miss Carter."

"Good. I was wondering if you could help me locate the women that Howard has…entertained in the past year."

"I'm not so sure that would be possible," Jarvis said with a laugh.

Peggy stared at him in disbelief for a minute. "All right, how about the last six months then?"

"Yes, I think that can be managed."

"Good."

A little while later, Jarvis and Peggy had collected the list of women that Howard had been with over the last six months. They then spent the better part of the afternoon tracking them all down, giving Peggy the chance to look at their wrists to check for scars, just like the girl in Russia had. Peggy had to admit it was nice working with the butler again, they certainly made a good team.

Once they got to the last person on the list, Ida, Peggy went into the building alone while Jarvis waited outside. After about ten minutes had passed, Peggy emerged from the apartment building, looking to be in better spirits than she had before going in.

"Have you found anything?"

"Yes, I believe I have," Peggy said. "This Ida is definitely our girl, though she's long gone now."

"If you didn't speak to her then how can you tell?"

"Marks on the bedposts, remember the handcuffs."

"Oh, yes, quite right," Jarvis said. "Wait? Are you saying she's still doing it?"

Peggy nodded, "That must be a hard habit to break."

"That's incredibly disturbing," Jarvis said, and then paused for a minute before continuing. "So what now, Miss Carter?"

"Well, now we'll need to track Ida down, but we can start on that tomorrow. I should be returning home to my daughter now."

"Ah yes, of course. I'll give you a ride."

"Thank you, Mr. Jarvis," Peggy said as they began walking to the car. "For everything today."

"You're quite welcome, Miss Carter."

* * *

Once Peggy arrived back at the Griffith, she once again made her way to Mary's apartment. This time however, as soon as Mary opened the door and saw Peggy standing there, a look of surprise flashed across her face, which didn't go unnoticed by Peggy.

"Hello Mary, I'm here to pick up Sarah."

Mary knitted her eyebrows in confusion. "But didn't you ask Dottie to pick up Sarah for you?"

"Dottie?"

"Yes, she came to get Sarah, maybe twenty-minutes ago. She told me that you had sent her."

Peggy then felt her stomach drop and an uneasy feeling came over her but she kept it together, not wanting to alarm Mary.

"Oh yes, that's right. I must have forgotten. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Goodnight, Peggy," Mary said with a smile before closing the door.

Once the door was closed, Peggy exhaled sharply, and turned to look down the hall in the direction of her apartment. Dottie. It suddenly dawned on her that Dottie was most likely the female agent she had been looking for all this time. At that moment, Peggy wanted to mentally kick herself for not putting that together sooner. As it made perfect sense. Though, she knew very well that she couldn't afford to do that, not when Sarah could be in danger.

She then slowly made her way down the hall to her apartment and moved to unlock the door. Peggy desperately hoped that Sarah was okay and Dottie hadn't done anything to harm her. Peggy didn't know what she'd do if her daughter was hurt. Peggy then drew a deep breath, as she tried to keep her fears at bay and then she reached over to turn the knob and at last open the door.

As soon as the door opened completely, she saw Dottie sitting in a chair with Sarah on her lap. The baby then looked up from her toy, and smiled upon seeing her mother. Peggy glanced over her daughter quickly and was very relieved to find that Sarah looked to be okay. Peggy's eyes then connected with Dottie, whose eyes looked colder than she had ever noticed them to be before.

"Hello Peggy."

* * *

Thanks for reading!

Cliffhanger.

Next chapter: Dottie blackmails Peggy in order to get her hands on a particular Stark weapon.


	12. Chapter 12

Legacy

Chapter 12

"Dottie," Peggy said, as she stood in the doorway.

After a minute passed, Peggy moved to close the door, without taking her eyes off Dottie, not even for a second.

"I was beginning to wonder if you ever figure it out. I trust by now you've figured out who I work for, haven't you?"

"Leviathan."

"Very good, Agent Carter," Dottie said. "I know who you are too. The female SSR Agent who served with Captain America and the 107th."

"What do you want?" Peggy asked.

"You really don't mess around, do you? I see motherhood hasn't softened you."

"Dottie, please, give me my daughter," Peggy said, while eying her baby very closely, as Sarah continued to play with her toy on Dottie's lap.

"Not quite yet," Dottie said. "You and your friend Howard have made our mission here very difficult, and now I'm going to repay the favor."

Peggy felt a chill go down her spine. She was sure that she had never been more terrified than she was right then. Her daughter was in the arms of a known killer because of her work. She had desperately wanted to keep Sarah away from all this, and now she felt like she had failed. In spite of the inner turmoil Peggy was feeling, she remained strong, in an attempt to mask her feelings while in Dottie's presence.

"Only if you give my daughter back to me."

"I don't think so," Dottie said, reaching up to touch Sarah's chubby check. "I think I'll hang on to this cutie for a while longer."

"Please, she's not a part of this."

"Oh that's where you're wrong. Tell me, Peggy. Does she remind you of her father?"

Peggy stared at Dottie for a minute, trying to decide if she really knew who Sarah's father was, but the aching feeling that was developing in her stomach told her that she did. Somehow she knew. Her eyes then quickly glanced over at Steve's picture on her vanity.

"I didn't know for certain until I saw that picture over there, only then did I piece it together." Dottie said, glancing over at the picture of Steve, where Peggy's eyes had gone moments ago. "The child of Captain America. You really did go to great lengths to keep that quiet. I'm sure HYDRA would pay a heavy price for this information, well what's left of them anyway."

"Please Dottie, don't do this. Leave Sarah alone," Peggy said, feeling like her heart was going to explode at hearing Dottie threaten her child.

"Hmm, maybe I was wrong about motherhood not softening you," Dottie said. "All right, this is what you'll do for me. Tomorrow you will go into the SSR, just as you would any other day. Then you will locate a particular weapon made by your old friend Howard, and steal it."

Dottie then pulled out a piece of paper of said weapon and handed it to Peggy. After looking over the plans for the Stark weapon, Peggy spoke.

"Then what?"

"Then you will bring it to me. And if you can't, well, I'll take your daughter. The program is always in need of new recruits," Dottie said, referring to the program that she had been a part of. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes," Peggy replied.

"Good, I'll be sending you the address tomorrow."

Dottie then walked over to Peggy and passed the baby back to her mother. Once the baby was in Peggy's arms, Sarah started fussing and dropped her toy on the floor.

"Okay."

"Oh and I shouldn't have to say this, not to you. But don't even think about attempting to warn your superiors. You'd only be hurting your friend, and your daughter."

Peggy nodded in reply as she started rubbing the baby's back. In an effort to calm Sarah as her fussing turned into a cry.

"Good. Have a goodnight, Peggy."

Dottie then continued on to the door and showed herself out. Once the door was shut, Sarah's cries became louder, and Peggy let go of the breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding. She then brought the baby closer to her and continued rubbing Sarah's back while making shushing sounds.

* * *

The next morning, Edwin Jarvis made his way over to the door after hearing a loud knocking from the other side.

"Be right there," he called as he approached the door.

When he opened it, he saw Peggy standing there, holding her daughter in her arms. And there was something about the look on Peggy's face, which gave Jarvis an uneasy feeling. He had never seen her look so rattled before.

"Miss Carter."

"Hello, Mr. Jarvis. May I come in?" Peggy asked with her voice shaking somewhat.

"Of course."

Peggy then entered the house and turned back around to face the butler as he closed the door.

"Well…"

"Miss Carter, has something happened?" Jarvis interrupted.

"I found Ida, well Dottie now. It turned out she was living at the Griffith as my neighbor."

"Well, that's very disturbing indeed."

Peggy nodded. "She happened to pay me a visit last night…and she threatened…She threatened, Sarah."

"Oh my god. Is she okay?" Jarvis asked, gesturing to the baby.

"She's fine," Peggy replied, looking down at Sarah, who was busily sucking on her thumb while she rested on her mother's shoulder.

"But what would she want with a child?"

"She knows," Peggy said, and Jarvis automatically knew what she meant by that. "And well let's just say, she knew to go after the one person who means everything to me."

"So what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to steal Howard's weapons from the SSR."

"What? Why?"

"Because that's what she wants, Jarvis. Or she'll take my daughter."

"But, Miss Carter, surely there's another way?" Jarvis questioned, out of concern for Peggy's sake, and what would happen if the SSR found out what she was doing. As well as knowing all too well the danger his employer's inventions posed.

"I might be able to come up with a way to make sure she can't use the weapon for whatever Leviathan is planning, but I can't let her take my daughter. I have to play this smart, and very carefully," Peggy explained.

"Of course," Jarvis said, understanding Peggy's need to protect her child. "Maybe I can try contacting Mr. Stark for help."

"And you really think he'll come? Howard isn't exactly known for taking responsibly for his actions."

Peggy knew Howard was a good man, underneath all his flaws but he was reckless, and she couldn't depend on him for help. Not when her daughter was at risk.

"It's worth a shot," Jarvis said. "I know that he wouldn't want any harm to come to your daughter, or to you."

Peggy took in a breath, as she thought over Jarvis's offer.

"All right you can try. Let me know if you hear from him." Jarvis nodded. "…Okay, well I should be going. I need to drop Sarah off with her sitter and get to work."

Peggy then walked over to the door and opened it, before turning back around to face Jarvis.

"Good luck, Miss Carter."

"Thank you. Good luck to you."

* * *

As soon as Peggy arrived at the SSR, she made her way over to the science lab, not wanting to waste anytime locating the weapon she was to steal later. That way she'd have plenty of time to figure out how to get it out of the SSR.

Once she was standing in front of the lab, Peggy looked to either side, making sure no one was coming down the hallway. She knew the scientists wouldn't be arriving for at least twenty more minutes, which should give her plenty of time to locate the weapon.

Peggy then closed her eyes, in order to gather her strength before finally stepping foot into the room. She then pulled out the piece of paper, which held the schematics for the weapon in question. With the plans in her hand, Peggy went around the room, checking every shelf that held Stark weapons. Until she had looked over every last one of them, but she couldn't seem to find item number seventeen anywhere. In fact she didn't remember seeing it at all, when she had taken the pictures for Howard.

Which meant that the weapon was never there.

"Damn you, Howard," Peggy muttered under her breath.

She then put the schematics back in her jacket pocket and headed out the room. What was she going to do now? With the weapon missing, Dottie would most definitely stick to her word to take Sarah. At least she would try to, but there was no way in hell Peggy was going to let that happen. Peggy then glanced over at the clock as she made her way back to the main part of the office. It was almost nine now, meaning she had a little over ten hours before she was to meet Dottie at the chosen location, which her neighbor had slipped underneath her door that morning. Which should give her plenty of time to come up with a plan. At least that's what she hoped.

When she got to the main area of the office, Peggy was taken off guard for a minute when she saw Dugan standing over by her desk.

"Timothy," Peggy called as she approached him.

"Hi Peggy. Good morning," Dugan said, giving her a quick hug in the almost empty office.

"What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to say hi. The boys and I are going to go see a ballgame. You know since Cap was always taking about them."

"Oh, that sounds really nice. You boys have fun."

"Yeah, we're excited. Hey, what are you doing on the 8th?"

"The 8th? I'm not too sure really. Why?"

"Cause we're thinking of sticking around till then and thought about going to the park that day. And we wanted to know if you wanted to join us, with Sarah of course. Maybe we can get another smile out of Sam," Dugan explained.

"That sounds lovely, Dugan, but I'm afraid I'll have to get back to you on that."

Dugan then looked at Peggy with a quizzical expression. "Say Peggy, is everything all right? You seem upset or something."

"I'm fine…I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind," Peggy said, hoping he would buy her excuse. "Hey, can you wait here for a minute? I have to make a call."

"Sure. I'll be right here."

Peggy then walked over to an empty meeting room to place a call to Jarvis, and inform him of the missing weapon. Apparently, Edwin's luck had been equally as bad, as he hadn't been able to track down Howard yet, though he had left him countess messages.

"So what now Miss Carter," Jarvis asked on the phone.

"I don't know," Peggy admitted. "I'll call you later. Once I have a plan."

Peggy then hung up the phone, starting to feel a bit defeated. She then glanced out the window that looked into the main office and saw Dugan still waiting by her desk. Peggy licked her lips, and then reached for a pen and paper, and scribbled something down on it. She then proceeded to fold the paper in half before leaving the room.

Once she left the meeting room, Peggy walked back over to Dugan and sneakily handed him the folded paper.

"Don't open this until later tonight, okay? It's very important," Peggy said, in a hushed tone so she wouldn't draw the attention of the few agents, who were already at their desks.

"Yes, Ma'am," Dugan said, not questioning her at all.

"Good. I'll see you later." Peggy then gave him a quick peck on the cheek goodbye, before Dugan turned to leave the office.

* * *

By the end of the work day, Peggy was feeling extremely anxious since her circumstances didn't appear to be improving at all. She so wished that Jarvis had been able to contact Howard, so that just maybe he would have been able to give her the weapon Leviathan wanted. And she wouldn't be preparing herself for the impossible task of turning her daughter over to Dottie. Part of her considered taking Sarah away as soon as Angie brought the baby to her, but she knew she couldn't. It would only make things worse for her, and more importantly for Sarah. She knew how dangerous Dottie was, and because of that, she knew she would have to be extremely careful in whatever she did next. If there was any chance for them to walk away from this and for Sarah to have a somewhat normal life, she needed to be cautious.

Despite how anxious and horrible she felt, that her child had been brought into this mess. Peggy hoped that they would be okay. She had to believe that, just as she believed that Steve was watching over them right at this moment.

Peggy then glanced up when she saw a cab pull up to the curb, followed by Angie climbing out of it with Sarah in her arms. Angie then looked around until she saw Peggy waving to her, and as she approached her friend, she could tell by the look in Peggy's eyes that something was wrong.

"Peggy, are you okay? What's wrong? You wouldn't say on the phone."

Peggy had called Angie earlier and asked her to pick up Sarah from Mary and bring her to the Dublin House, where Peggy would meet them. Angie had of course agreed to the request, but the fact that Peggy had been so vague on the phone, and now at having seen Peggy's worried expression, Angie was very concerned.

"I'm afraid it's difficult to explain," Peggy insisted. Holding out her hands so she could take the baby from her friend.

"I've got time."

"Angie…" Peggy said.

"Come on, English. We're friends and I adore that little girl, Tell we what's wrong, you can tell me."

Peggy sighed, as she tried to figure out what to say to her friend. Knowing Angie, wouldn't buy an excuse so easily.

"Okay, I have to go out of town for a while and I don't know how long I'll be gone."

"Okay." Angie then paused for a minute before speaking again. "Does this have anything to do with work?"

"Yes," Peggy admitted.

"You don't work for the phone company, do you?" Angie questioned, though she knew she already knew the answer.

"No, I don't."

"I knew it."

"Angie, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I'm not supposed to."

"It's okay, English, I understand and you've told me enough," Angie said. "Though I would certainly like to know more, I think that can wait."

"Fair enough. Thank you for understanding."

"You're welcome," Angie's face then turned to one of worry. "Are you and Sarah going to be okay?"

"I think so, I hope so anyway," Peggy said, while rubbing her thumb over her daughter's little hand.

"Well, good luck, English. You take care of yourself."

"You too, Angie."

Angie then gave Peggy a hug and offered her one last smile before heading back over to the cab, leaving the mother and daughter alone.

Peggy then went over to go sit down on the bench, and looked down at her daughter, who took the hand Peggy was stroking not moments ago and put it in her mouth. Peggy then kissed her daughters head and sniffled as she tried not to let tears fall.

"I'm so sorry, darling," Peggy whispered as she traced her daughter's chin with her finger. "All l I wanted for you, was for you to be safe and happy….Things won't always be like this, Sarah. I promise you that."

Peggy held her daughter close, taking in her sweet baby scent, while Sarah continued to suck on her little fist, without a care in the world. The young woman was relieved that Sarah was too young to know what was happening and wouldn't be able to remember this night. Which was a small mercy, she supposed.

Peggy then stood up and carried Sarah over to the curb, and hailed a cab to take her to the address, where she was to meet Dottie.

* * *

By the time Peggy arrived at the location the sun had set. After paying the cab driver, Peggy turned to face the building of the small airport and took a deep breath before checking on her daughter, who was sleeping contently in her arms.

Peggy then smiled slightly as she gazed at her daughter.

After gathering up her strength, Peggy made her way over to the garage, and as soon as she entered the building, she set eyes on Dottie, who was standing in the center of the room along with two other men.

Dottie then turned around to face Peggy, upon hearing her heels clicking on the concrete.

"Peggy, there you are. I'm so glad you could make it."

"Well, I make a point of keeping my appointments."

Dottie smirked. "So where is it?"

"The weapon you asked for was not at the SSR. And I have no idea where it is, or if it's been made at all."

"Oh, it has," Dottie replied. As she pulled a gun from the small of her back and cocked it. Peggy then took a step backwards as the gun was pointed directly at her.

"Dottie, I really am telling the truth."

Dottie looked her over for a minute and could tell that Peggy was indeed telling the truth. "You know Peggy, you really are a disappointment. Motherhood has indeed made you gone soft."

"If I'm soft it's for a good reason."

Dottie then glanced at the baby. "Well you won't have to worry about that much longer. Now, hand over the baby, it was part of the agreement and as you said. You always honor your agreements."

"Dottie please, she's a child. She doesn't have anything to do with this."

"Well, that's not exactly true now is it?" Dottie reminded Peggy, as she continued pointing the gun at her. "Hand her over."

Peggy then moved closer to Dottie and when the latter opened to arms to receive the baby, Peggy quickly turned to the side to shield Sarah, and jabbed Dottie in the face with her free arm as hard as she could.

The men standing behind Dottie then pulled out their guns and pointed them at Peggy, as Dottie recovered from the jab by Peggy's elbow. When she recovered, Dottie then gestured for the men to put down their guns.

"Oh Peggy, that really wasn't a smart move. As you can see, you're outnumbered. Now hand over the baby as discussed."

Peggy knew her hitting Dottie wouldn't have helped the situation all that much. In fact, she was sure that she had just made things worse for herself, but she wasn't one to go down without a fight.

"If you're going to take my daughter, then you're going to have to take me too. Or I'm prepared to fight you with everything I have."

"Oh, now there's the Agent Carter, I wanted to see," Dottie said. She then tilted her head slightly as she thought it over. "…Very well, if she tries anything shoot her."

Dottie then motioned to one of the men to go over and grab Peggy. This time Peggy didn't fight when the man grabbed her arm and started leading her over to the car. Just when the man opened the door to the back of the car, another voice rang out in the garage.

"Wait!" Peggy then turned to see Howard Stark walking over to them from the other side of the garage.

"Howard, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question, Peg," Howard said as Peggy stared at him in disbelief. She couldn't believe that he was actually there. "I know, you missed me."

"Howard Stark," Dottie said, as she slammed the front door of the car closed and walked over to Howard.

"Well, hello….What's your name?" Howard asked, as he looked her up and down.

"You really don't recognize me. Do you?"

"Should I?"

"We spent a very lovely weekend together a few months ago."

"Is it Alice?" Howard asked, and then was met by a slap in the face. "Julie."

Peggy rolled her eyes, as Howard was slapped in the face by Dottie for the second time.

"Put him in the car," Dottie said to the other man who was with her.

* * *

Once Peggy and Howard were in the backseat of the car, the other three stood outside the car talking amongst themselves, clearly trying to decide what to do with them.

"I can't believe you showed up."

"Well, I had to, Peggy. We're friends. And when Jarvis told me you were being blackmailed, I knew I had to come and help you."

"Still, I didn't think you'd risk getting killed by coming here. Even for a friend."

"Well Peg, as stupid as it may have been, I had to come. I couldn't find Cap, so I figured the least I could do is keep his girls safe," Howard said, and Peggy gave a little smile in reply. "Speaking of which, what the hell were you doing? I know you could take these guys, easily."

Peggy glanced down at the baby, who was still sleeping soundly. "Well, I am holding a baby, Howard. And Sarah's safety comes first."

Howard then looked down at the baby and pinched his nose bridge as he leaned against the seat. "Right, of course it does."

"If you must know, I'm trying to buy us time."

"For what, exactly?"

The two friends were then interrupted when one of the two male Leviathan agents spoke up and pounded on the window. "Hey, shut up back there."

The man then opened the door and the remaining three filed into the front seat of the car.

"Excuse me sir. Do you mine lowering you voice so you don't wake my child? Thank you," Peggy said.

The man didn't acknowledge Peggy's request and instead told the other one to start driving.

"I'm so sorry this is happening, Peggy. If it wasn't for my weapon…"

"Howard, don't blame yourself. It won't do us any good," Peggy said, as the car started moving out of the garage.

The two then remained silent, as the car drove down the road to the gate at the end of the property. All of a sudden they heard a bang and the car went off the road as a tire blew out, until it crashed into the fence up ahead.

"Are you two all right?" Howard asked after the impact.

"Yes, we're fine," Peggy answered after checking on the baby.

Thankfully, they had been well protected from the impact in the backseat while in the front, Dottie and the other agents weren't so lucky.

"Peggy!" Dugan's voice called from outside the car.

"SSR agents! Come out of the vehicle now," Daniel's voice yelled following Dugan's.

"Did you know they were coming?" Howard asked.

"I might have had a hunch."

Howard smiled. "Now that's the Peggy Carter I remember. I told you, you were the right person to find my weapons."

Sarah then started crying from being awoken by all the commotion around them. Peggy pulled her daughter closer to her, before exiting the car to see Dugan standing there.

"Peggy, thank god."

"I knew I could count on you boys," Peggy said, seeing Jim Morita and Gabe Jones there as well.

Jarvis then came running up to them. "Miss Carter. Mr. Stark, are you okay?"

"We're fine."

"My cheek hurts, but yes we're good," Howard said, walking around from the other side of the car. "So Peggy, how exactly did they know where to find us?"

"I'll tell you later, Howard." Peggy then gave her friends a smile as she rocked Sarah, to help the baby drift back off to sleep.

Daniel then approached the group. "Peggy, are you okay? Is she okay?"

Peggy looked down at the baby then back at Daniel. "Yes, we're fine."

"Thank god."

"Sorry, about all this," Peggy said, referring mainly to her secrecy.

"Don't worry about it. Mr. Jarvis did take the time to enlighten us to some things as did the 107th. That being said, you should probably come in. The Chief will want a word."

Peggy nodded in reply, before walking with Daniel over to his car, as Dugan, Howard and Jarvis following close behind.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! And I wanted to take this time to thank you guys for the comments/follows/favorites so far, it's very much appreciated. I will post the next chapter as soon as I can. **


	13. Chapter 13

Legacy

Chapter 13

After a relatively short car ride, Peggy arrived at the SSR along with Daniel, Howard, Dugan and Jarvis. When the elevator doors opened Daniel stepped out first, and then he briefly turned back around, just to make sure that Peggy was following him.

As her eyes focused on the SSR symbol at the end of the hallway, Peggy couldn't help but feel a little guilty for working in secret for Howard, and for sneaking around the office to steal a weapon, that had it been there, she would have stolen. Now that Jarvis and Dugan had gone to the SSR for help, everything she had been doing for the last month was out in the open. Though she knew that would happen when she gave Dugan the note with Jarvis's phone number on it, knowing full well that Dugan would call that number and Jarvis would explain everything to him. Still, the reality of everything being in the open, was a bit frightening.

While Peggy believed she had done the right thing, she wasn't sure the SSR would see it that way. Daniel had told her not to worry, that her job was safe, and the Chief just wanted to talk, but that wasn't enough reassurance to keep her nervousness at bay. And she supposed that she was still shaken from the events of the night.

Peggy promised herself that whatever happened next she would conduct herself honorably, just as she had set out to do when she joined the SSR.

Peggy then briefly glanced down at Sarah, who was sleeping in her arms. For the first time that night, Peggy let out a sigh of relief. Her daughter was safe. Maybe she was doing her job right, after all. At least her job as a mother, which all things considered was more important than her career.

"Are you ready?"

Peggy then snapped from her thoughts when she heard Daniel's voice.

"I'm ready," Peggy replied, as they continued on to the Chief's office.

As they approached the office they saw Thompson standing there, waiting for them.

"Carter."

"Thompson."

"Dooley said to go on in,"

Thompson then moved away from the door to let Peggy past. Peggy's eyes then glanced down at her child, as she took a step forward.

"I'll take her, Peggy," Dugan said from his place behind her.

Peggy then turned around, and carefully passed the baby into Dugan's waiting arms. "Thank you."

"Good luck in there, Peg."

Peggy gave Dugan a nod and a little smile before she took a couple steps forward. She then moved to knock on the Chief's door to announce her presence, before finally walking into the room. As soon as she was in the office she spotted Dooley sitting at his desk, looking over papers. Peggy then made her way to the center of the room, which prompted her boss to look up. Dooley then leaned back in his chair and stared at Peggy, as she sat down across from him.

"Sir, you asked to see me."

"Yes, Carter. I did," Dooley said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine sir."

"And your daughter?"

"She's fine too."

"Good, good," Dooley trailed off.

"Sir, may I start?" Peggy asked.

Dooley then gestured for her to go on. "Please."

"Sir, I am sorry that I kept things from the SSR, while I was secretly working for Howard Stark. I know it was wrong. That being said I was trying to do the right thing."

"And I thank you for that Agent," Dooley said. "And after the events of tonight I think we can forget the whole thing."

"Sir?" Peggy questioned, having fully been expecting him to yell at her.

"Well, I'd say you proved yourself to be quite a resourceful agent and you did come clean through Mr. Jarvis so I'll let it slide, this time. You've had a rough night as it is."

"Thank you, sir," Peggy said, feeling shocked by her boss's attitude towards her. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything and you're welcome," Dooley said. "And your job here is safe, as long as you want to stay…I know you haven't been happy here, have you?"

Peggy opened and closed her mouth not knowing how to reply at first, but then slowly, she began to shake her head.

"It has been hard sir, but that doesn't excuse my secrecy. And yes I would like to stay."

Dooley gave a nod. "Well, I'll see you in the morning then, Agent Carter."

"Thank you, sir. Goodnight," Peggy said, moving to stand.

Then just when she was about to walk out of the office, Dooley spoke again.

"Agent Carter."

"Yes, sir?"

"I will admit I was reluctant to hire you when Phillips approached me, but I gave you a chance, and well tonight I've seen the Agent he described. And I have to say I'm impressed."

"Goodnight sir," Peggy said with a nod, before leaving the room.

"Hey, how did it go?" Dugan asked, as Peggy walked over to him.

Peggy then glanced between Dugan, Howard and Jarvis before answering. "It went well, my job is safe."

"Thank god," Dugan said. "This job wouldn't be the same without you."

"Thanks Timothy, but I think I'm actually looking forward to a quiet week, or two," Peggy admitted, while taking hold of her sleeping daughter.

The others nodded in agreement.

"You deserve that, Peg," Howard said.

"Indeed Miss Carter," Jarvis added.

"So Howard, would you like to go out for a drink? Jarvis, Peggy, you're welcome to come as well," Dugan asked.

"Thank you, Dugan but I think I'll pass for tonight. I should be taking this young lady home."

"Right," Dugan replied, giving her a quick hug. "Goodnight, Peg."

"I'll pass too, I should be getting home to Anna. I'll leave the door unlocked for you sir," Jarvis told Howard.

"Thanks Jarvis. Goodnight all," Howard said.

Howard and Dugan then waved goodbye and proceeded to leave the office, followed by Jarvis, who offered Peggy a smile as he passed.

"Peggy." Peggy then turned around to see Daniel walking over to her, after having gone to get coffee, Peggy judged from the mug in his hand.

"Daniel."

"The meeting with Dooley went well?" Daniel inquired.

"It did."

"Good." Daniel's eyes then landed on the baby in Peggy's arms. "So this is your daughter. She's beautiful. Her name's Sarah, right?"

"Yes, this is Sarah," Peggy said. "And thank you, for everything tonight."

"You're welcome."

"Well, I best be going. See you tomorrow, Daniel."

Daniel gave her a smile in reply. Peggy then headed toward the elevator with Sarah, very much looking forward to going home and getting a goodnight's rest.

* * *

A couple days later, Peggy was sleeping in her new bed, at her new penthouse that Howard had given to her, Sarah and Angie. As a present for all the trouble he had caused over the last month. Peggy was tempted to decline the gesture but she had to admit, it was nice to only have one roommate besides her daughter, and one that she trusted at that.

After all that happened with Dottie, who was now in jail. Peggy figured this was exactly what she needed, to be with two of the people closest to her.

_When morning came, Peggy suddenly became aware of light filtering in from the window. She then squeezed her eyes tight for a minute, before slowly opening them. _

_As she looked up at the celling, she felt the mattress sink on the other side of the bed. Peggy then knitted her eyebrows in confusion, before rolling over onto her side to see the source of the movement. _

"_Good morning, Peggy." _

_Peggy then found herself staring at a face she hadn't seen in a little over a year, and watched as his blue eyes lit up. He looked exactly the same as the last time she saw him. When she had given him that kiss before he jumped onto the Valkyrie. _

"_Steve," Peggy said, feeling almost out of breath. _

"_Hi." _

"_You're here." _

"_Where else would I be." Steve then leaned down to give her a kiss on the lips. It was just as soft and perfect as she remembered it. _

"_Steve," Peggy repeated, still in disbelief that he was lying right next to her. _

"_Yes?" _

"_Nothing, I'm just glad you're here," Peggy said. _

"_You're beautiful, you know that right?" Peggy gave him a smile and then heard the all too familiar sound of Sarah cooing in her crib. "Oh, I think our girl is awake." _

_Steve then threw the covers off of himself, before standing up, and Peggy watched as he made his way over to the crib and lifted their daughter from it. _

_Steve then pulled his daughter closer to him, and smiled as Sarah cuddled up against his chest. He then turned to Peggy, who smiled back at him. _

"_Is she all right?" _

"_Yeah, she's good. Happy to see us, I think," Steve said, while he started rocking in place as he gazed at Sarah. _

_Peggy almost couldn't believe the sight she was currently seeing. Witnessing a glimpse of Steve with their daughter in his arms, was all she could have wanted. He looked so happy, standing there gazing as his daughter, and Sarah looked so small in Steve's arms. It was a truly perfect sight, and it filled Peggy with so much joy. _

"_I have to say, I'm very fond of this view," Peggy said. "You're very good with her." _

"_Well, I would certainly hope so," Steve said with a smile. He then turned his attention back to their child. "What do you think, Sarah? Am I a good Daddy?" _

_Peggy then chuckled. "You're such a good father, Steve." _

"_And you're a good mother." Steve then moved from the other side of the bedroom and brought the baby over Peggy. "Here's your mommy, Sarah." _

_Once Steve had gotten himself situated in bed, he laid the baby down on his legs, so she could face her parents. Peggy then reached over to hold Sarah's hand as their daughter gazed up at them. _

"_Hello, darling," Peggy greeted, as she continued to stroke her daughter's hand. _

"_She's beautiful, Peggy. She looks so much like you. My two girls." _

"_Oh, don't be silly. I think she looks like you." _

"_How about we say she's a good mix of both of us?" _

"_Fair enough," Peggy said as she rested her head against Steve's shoulder while they continued to watch their daughter._

"_I really do love her Peggy, both for you." _

_Peggy smiled, and then waited a moment before speaking again. "I miss you, Steve." _

"_I know," Steve said, while continuing to watch Sarah as her foot lightly kicked him in the stomach. "I miss you, Sarah too, but I want you to know how proud I am of you." _

"_I wish we could have had more time together," Peggy mused, thinking about all the things they missed out on, including finally getting their dance. _

"_Me too," Steve replied, as the smile left his face, but then came back a few seconds later. "But, still. I think we did well with the time we were given. _

_At the same time, Peggy and Steve both shifted their gaze back to their daughter. And Peggy nodded her head in agreement. Though, she and Steve never had a chance to be a real couple, they did have Sarah. And she was by far the most important thing to come out of their relationship. _

"_We did do well." Peggy then leaned in to give him another kiss. "And I love you too, Steve."_

Peggy's eyes then shot open and she looked around the room for a minute, trying to remember where she was. It had only been a dream. Peggy took in a deep breath, as she got her emotions in check. Of course this hadn't been the first dream she had about Steve since he disappeared, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. This one did feel different though, almost like a sign that Steve was indeed watching over her and their daughter. And she knew that even though he was gone, Steve would always be a huge part of her life, in memory and in their daughter.

As if on cue, Sarah started cooing in her crib, letting Peggy know that she was awake and would need to be fed soon.

Peggy then made her way over to the crib, and gave her daughter a smile as she lifted the baby from the crib. Sarah waved her arms in the air as she stretched, and yawned, before her big blue eyes focused on her mother.

"Good morning, darling," Peggy greeted as she gave Sarah a kiss on her forehead.

* * *

After leaving her room, Peggy went down the hall to the kitchen to find Angie there drinking her morning coffee.

"Good morning, Angie."

"Morning, English,"

"Do you mind holding her for a minute while I get her bottle ready?" Peggy asked, walking over to the table.

"Of course, Auntie Angie loves this girl," Angie said, opening her arms for Sarah. "Come here, sweetie."

Peggy then went over to the counter and began to prepare Sarah's bottle. After a minute passed, she glanced over at Angie to see her playing with the baby.

"So how are you settling in?" Peggy asked.

"Very well. I'll tell you something, Peg. I don't think I'll ever want to leave this place."

"I'll be sure to tell Howard you like it."

"Like it. I love it! I still can't believe he gave us this place," Angie said.

Peggy nodded in agreement as she closed the lid on the bottle and shook it a couple of times. Before she set it down and poured herself a cup a coffee.

"As Mr. Jarvis said, he wanted to repay me for everything that happened in the last month."

"That's a good friend you have there."

"He's a wanker," Peggy said, while walking over to table to set her cup of coffee and Sarah's bottle down on it. Angie then let out a chuckle at Peggy's remark. "But yes Howard is a good friend."

Peggy then wandered over to Angie to get Sarah, before going back to sit down.

"So Peg, I have a question for you."

"Yes? What is it?" Peggy asked while giving Sarah her bottle.

"Do you like it here?"

"I do, it's very nice and quiet."

"You're telling me. I mean I love the Griffith and everything, but just having you and Sarah as roommates is so nice."

Peggy nodded in reply. "Agreed. So Angie there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"Another secret? Because I'm not sure you can top the one about you working for the SSR, English."

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that."

"Okay, tell me," Angie said, fully intrigued.

"Well, it's about Sarah's father…"

"Is he a spy too?" Angie asked.

"Well sort of," Peggy said, licking her lips before she continued. "Sarah's father is Captain Steve Rogers."

"Captain Steve Rogers," Angie repeated.

"Yes, and you've seen him before, at a USO show I believe."

"Wait? Captain Rogers? As in?" Angie questioned, as her eyes widened.

"Yes," Peggy said with a nod.

Angie then looked from Peggy to Sarah and back again, as the realization of who Sarah's father was sunk in.

"You mean to tell me that her father is Captain America!"

Peggy nodded in reply as her eyes moved to look at her daughter, who was contently sucking on her bottle.

Angie then watched Peggy and the baby for a minute, before mouthing "wow" with her lips.

"Wow Peggy, you're just full of surprises," Angie said, reeling from Peggy's announcement. "I'm going to need more coffee."

Peggy smiled, and let out a chuckle as Angie went over to the counter to pour herself another cup.

* * *

Later that day, Peggy and Sarah were spending the afternoon with the Howling Commandos at the park. Since they were planning on spending most of the day there Peggy brought a picnic basket with her, knowing that the guys were going to get hungry. And sure enough they polished off their lunch very quickly.

Peggy spent much of her time resting on blanket and enjoyed a nice chat with Gabe. After some time passed, her eyes then glanced over to see Dugan and Morita coming back from taking Sarah to go look at the ducks.

"Well, she liked the ducks, Peg," Morita announced as he walked over to them, "Hey Gabe, can I borrow that?"

Gabe nodded and handed the little American flag he had been holding to Morita, who then took it back over to Dugan. He then proceeded to hand the small flag to Sarah, who held on to it for a minute before she started shaking it excitedly, which made the flag fall to the ground.

"Uh-oh for a minute there, I thought she was going to be a little Captain America," Dugan joked.

Peggy shook her head and laughed. "All right, Dugan. You've had your fun, now hand over my daughter, please."

Dugan then walked over to Peggy and passed the baby back to her mother. Sarah smiled brightly as she was being passed over, and Peggy greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and lightly poked her little nose, as she settled the baby on her lap.

"On second thought, maybe she's a little Miss Union Jack."

"Don't start," Peggy said giving Dugan a little glare.

Dugan then let out a laugh along with Gabe and Morita as Peggy gave him a smile.

"Hey, I have an idea," Dugan said, gesturing for the rest of the group to come closer to them. He then got out his flask and proceeded to give a little speech. "It's been over a year now, and I know we all miss him a lot, but let's have fun today for him. To the Captain."

"To the Captain," The rest of the group echoed.

Dugan then handed the flask to Peggy so she could take a little swig. As she did so, Peggy felt a tear appear in the corner of her eye. Then after she handed the flask over to Gabe, she wiped it away and looked down at Sarah and mouthed "hi" to her.

"Hey, Peggy!"

At hearing someone call her name, Peggy turned her head to see Howard and Jarvis walking over to them. She then stood up, moving carefully, as she repositioned Sarah.

"Howard, what are you doing here?" Peggy asked, as she approached him.

"Well, I came to say bye, for now. I'm heading out West."

"Oh."

"So how are you and Angie liking the penthouse?"

"We love it," Peggy said. "Thank you, Howard."

"You're welcome." Howard then pulled her into a hug. "Bye, pal. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. Be safe. Try not to get in anymore trouble," Peggy said, as the corners of her mouth turned upwards into a grin.

"I'll try," Howard said with a laugh. He then reached out to touch Sarah's cheek. "You be good for your mom, okay?"

"See you soon, Howard."

"See you soon," Howard said. "I better go say goodbye to those knuckleheads over there."

Peggy nodded, and then Howard wandered off to go see the Howling Commandos.

"Miss Carter," Jarvis greeted.

"Mr. Jarvis," Peggy said. "So will you be going out West with Howard?"

"No, Anna and I will be remaining here in New York to keep an eye on the house."

"Well, that's very generous of you."

"Well yes, we thought it best. So I trust you did something with the...?" Jarvis asked, pausing mid-sentence so no one else would overhear him.

Peggy nodded, automatically knowing that Jarvis was referring to the vial of Steve's blood. "I said goodbye."

The two then were silent for a moment, before Jarvis spoke up again.

"Till we meet again, Miss Carter. It's been a pleasure. And as I said at the penthouse, don't hesitate to call if you need anything."

"Thank you again, Mr. Jarvis, for everything," Peggy replied, shaking Jarvis's hand.

"You're quite welcome, Miss Carter."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! **

**I hope you all enjoyed the Steggy dream sequence, it was very emotional to write. **

**It is very bittersweet for me to announce that the next chapter will be the last chapter of this particular story. However, I am excited to say that I will be writing a sequel. So there will be more of Peggy and Sarah to come!**


	14. Chapter 14

Legacy

Chapter 14

**Five years later **

A lot had changed for Peggy in the last five years. The SSR had been dismantled and Peggy was now heading SHIELD along with Phillips and Howard. It felt so great to be working with her friends again, and best of all she finally felt valued in the workplace. Her home life was great as well. Peggy and Angie had remained close over the years and were still living together at the penthouse. Then of course, there was her darling daughter, Sarah, who was now in kindergarten. Peggy couldn't believe how fast her little girl was growing up, but Sarah was as happy and healthy as a child could be. And that's all Peggy could have asked for.

Little Sarah Carter ran along and then jumped down a small staircase. As she and her mother made their way backstage to pay a visit to Angie before her big play.

"Sarah, darling be careful," Peggy called, just as her daughter landed on her feet.

"I will, Mommy," Sarah replied.

Sarah then proceeded down the hall, and when she came to a corner she stopped and waited for her mother. Once Peggy caught up with her, she took her daughter's hand and then the two of them continued on to Angie's dressing room.

When they arrived at Angie's door, Peggy reached out and knocked on the door. Sarah then let go of Peggy's hand, and proceeded to hide herself half-way behind her mother, burying her face in Peggy's skirt. Peggy chucked at Sarah's antics as she ran her fingers through her daughter's curly brown hair.

The door then opened, and Angie smiled upon seeing her two roommates.

"Hi girls," Angie greeted.

"Hello Angie."

Angie then spotted Sarah, trying to hide behind her mother, and after she shared a look with Peggy, they exchanged smiles.

"Say Peggy, have you seen Sarah?"

"I have not. She doesn't seem to be around."

The two women then heard the child giggle into Peggy's skirt.

"Huh… Well Peg, you do seem to have something attached to your leg there." Angie then reached out and tickled Sarah's side, making her laugh more.

Sarah then let go of her mother's skirt, and came within full view of Angie.

"Oh there she is," Peggy said, still playing along with the game.

"Surprise Aunt Angie!" Sarah greeted.

"That was such a nice surprise! Come here, sweetie," Angie said, opening her arms for the little girl.

Sarah gave her aunt a hug, and then the three of them moved inside the dressing room.

"Congratulations, Angie. Opening night. How do you feel?" Peggy asked.

Angie then exhaled loudly. "Overwhelmed, but I couldn't be more excited for tonight."

Peggy nodded in understanding. "That's to be expected, I imagine. I'm so proud of you, Angie."

"Thank you, English. It's been a long road but I've finally made it to Broadway."

"Yes, you did."

Angie then moved to sit at her vanity and turned the chair around. And once she was seated, she helped Sarah onto her lap.

"I think you're a very good actress, Auntie Angie," Sarah said, joining the conversation.

"Well thank you, sweetie-pie," Angie said, wrapping her arms around the little girl. "I wish you girls could stay for the play."

"I wish we could too, Angie," Peggy said. "But I have to get this one home, and into bed."

Angie nodded. "I understand. And I'll see you for the matinee this weekend, right?"

"Yes, of course. We're looking forward to it. Aren't we, Sarah?"

"Yeah," Sarah replied, nodding, very enthusiastically.

"Great." Angie then whispered something in Sarah's ear, to which Sarah replied to with a nod.

"What are you two whispering about?" Peggy inquired with a smile.

"Well, I think in honor of Auntie Angie's opening night, you should take this little girl out for ice cream."

"I see," Peggy answered, mulling it over.

"Give her the face, Sarah. Go on." Sarah then stuck out her bottom lip, silently pleading with her mother.

"Well, with a face like that. How can I say no?"

"Yay," Sarah said.

"There you go, sweetie. I knew your mother would agree to that."

Sarah nodded, as she shuffled off Angie's lap until her feet hit the floor.

Peggy then remembered she was still holding a bouquet of flowers. "Oh, these for you, Angie. Good luck tonight."

"Good luck, Auntie."

Angie then stood up to take the flowers. "Thank you, English. And thank you, Sarah."

"All right, darling, we should probably let Angie get ready for the play now," Peggy told her daughter.

"Oh yes, I should really start getting ready. Thanks for coming by, I'll see you two back at home." Angie then gave Peggy a hug.

"See you at home, Come along, Sarah."

Peggy held out her hand for the little girl to take once again, and Sarah came bouncing over to her.

"Hey, Sarah. You enjoy that ice cream for me. Get chocolate," Angie said with a wink.

Sarah laughed and attempted to wink back at her aunt while Peggy chuckled. The two Carter girls then gave one last wave to Angie, before they filed out of the room.

* * *

The next morning, Peggy was busily flipping pancakes on the stove, while she talked on the phone with Howard.

"Yes, we'll talk about it during the meeting today. Yes, okay. See you soon, Howard," Peggy said, before hanging up the phone.

She then transferred the now completely cooked pancakes onto a plate. Before going over to the ice box to grab the bottle of milk, so she could pour a glass for Sarah.

After Peggy had set the pancakes and glass of milk on the table. She went out into the hallway to call her daughter.

"Sarah darling. Your breakfast is ready." Peggy then went over to the sink and starting washing out her coffee cup.

As soon as she heard her daughter's footsteps patter into the kitchen, she turned back around to face her. When she turned, she saw Sarah standing in the doorway, rubbing her eyes. And it didn't take Peggy long to notice that the child looked a little peaked.

"Darling, are you okay?"

"I don't feel so good, Mommy," Sarah replied, looking up at her mother.

Peggy then walked over to her daughter and knelt down to her level. "Oh, what's wrong, love?"

"My throat hurts and my nose keeps running," Sarah said, while sniffling.

After she answered her mother, tears quickly appeared in Sarah's eyes, letting Peggy know her daughter was indeed feeling unwell. Which was odd, seeing that Sarah had never really been sick, with the exception of an ear infection when she was two. Peggy then reached out to wipe away the tears that were making their way down her daughter's cheek.

"Oh darling," Peggy said, as she held the back of her hand to Sarah's forehead. "Well, you do feel warm."

"Why?"

"Well Sarah, I think you have a cold, sweetheart."

Peggy then pulled out her handkerchief from her jacket and wiped the little girl's running nose.

"Mommy, make me feel better," Sarah said, as she flung her arms around Peggy's neck and buried her face in her mother's shoulder.

"I'll do what I can, darling," Peggy assured, rubbing Sarah's back to calm her.

Peggy held the child close, and brought her hand up to smooth her daughter's hair as she soothed her. The five-year-old was clearly very distressed by her illness. Which made sense, seeing that she was a toddler the last time she felt sick. So understandably, Sarah wasn't used to this at all.

Peggy then quickly realized there was no way Sarah could go to school today, and there was no way she could take off work. Not when there was so much to do. The young woman let out a sigh as she weighed her options. It was too late in the morning to arrange for a sitter. Angie would normally be happy to watch Sarah, but since she had rehearsals during the day, she wouldn't be available. After a few minutes of debating, Peggy realized she would have no choice but to take Sarah to work with her.

* * *

A little while later, Peggy and Sarah arrived on the army base and secret headquarters of SHIELD.

Sarah climbed out of the car with her teddy bear in hand, and looked around the base. Even though she wasn't feeling well, she was excited to finally see her mother's place of work. Seeing that she had never seen it before, but always wanted to.

"Come on, darling," Peggy said, taking her daughter's hand and then the two of them walked over to the building that held SHIELD.

"Mommy."

"Hmm?"

"What do you do for work?"

The young woman wasn't entirely surprised by this question. Her daughter was a curious child. An aspect of Sarah's personally, which Peggy adored. So she knew that one day, this question would come up, and apparently that day was today. Peggy also knew that she couldn't really explain to her five-year-old what she really did for a living, not yet anyway. Though Peggy had decided that when the time came, she wouldn't completely lie to her either.

"Well, I work for the government. And we try to protect the world from bad people."

"Like Daddy did?" Sarah questioned.

"Yes, a lot like Daddy," Peggy replied. "You know Sarah, come to think of it. This is where I met your father."

"Really?" A smile then appeared on Sarah's face before the child sneezed into her jacket sleeve.

"Yes, I'll tell you more about when you're older."

"You promise?"

"I do," Peggy answered.

Sarah then gave her a nod, satisfied by her mother's answer. For the time being, anyway.

Peggy then punched in the code to open the door, before going inside the building. The mother and daughter then made their way through the office, and Peggy kept a tight grip on Sarah's hand the whole way.

As they walked along, Sarah's mouth hung open in awe as she looked all around the office. Then as they came closer to Peggy's office, they spotted Phillips coming in their direction, along with his secretary.

"Morning, Agent Carter," he greeted.

"Good morning, sir."

Phillips then spotted Sarah and waved at her. After seeing people around the office that she had never met before, the five-year-old was very happy to see someone, she was very familiar with. She would see the Colonel every so often, and knew that he worked with her mother. And much to everyone else's amusement Sarah found the older man's gruff attitude to be very funny.

"Hi Colonel Phillips," Sarah greeted as he glanced over at her.

"Hello Sarah. Wow, you get bigger every time I see you," Phillips remarked while lightly tapping her head with his newspaper. "Is the school closed today?"

"Oh no, Sarah's not feeling well, I'm afraid. She has a cold," Peggy explained. "So she'll be staying in my office today. I trust that's all right?"

Phillips nodded. "Of course, Carter. And when this little one is feeling better, I have a chocolate bar in my desk with her name on it."

Sarah then smiled brightly, and Peggy chuckled as she put her arm around her child.

"Yay!" Sarah said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, honey. You feel better," Phillips replied. The Colonel then gave Peggy a nod, before continuing on his way.

* * *

That afternoon, Peggy was seated at her desk typing up a report on her typewriter while Sarah slept on the couch. Peggy glanced over at her daughter, and smiled at the sight of Sarah's sleeping form. She looked so peaceful while she slept, and Peggy never got tired of seeing this sight.

Peggy was glad Sarah was getting some rest. The child's cold had come in full force it seemed around noon. And as a result, the little girl had started to feel very tired after she had finished a few drawings.

After about fifteen minutes passed, Sarah began to stir from her nap.

"Mommy?" Sarah questioned, as she tried to shake off the remaining drowsiness from sleep.

"I'm here."

Peggy then went over to Sarah to check on her. Once Peggy was sitting down, the five-year old looked over at her mother and gave her a smile.

"Hi."

"Hi. Did you have a nice nap, darling?" Peggy asked, as she tucked some of Sarah's hair behind her ear.

"Yes," Sarah replied.

"Good. How are you feeling?"

"My throat hurts a little."

"Well I know something that can help with that. I'll go make you some tea." Peggy then went over to go fetch Sarah some tea. When she returned a few minutes later, she handed the cup to Sarah. "Remember to be blow on it. It's hot."

Sarah nodded and then blew into the cup before taking sip. She then turned her head to glance out the window that looked out onto the agency.

"Mommy."

"Yes Sarah?" Peggy asked, as she sat back down at her desk.

"Who's the man? The one who looks like a bug?"

Peggy then looked up to see who her daughter was talking about, and had to hold back a chuckle when she figured it out.

"Sarah, you can't say that Dr. Zola looks like a bug."

"But he looks like one."

"Sweetheart, you really shouldn't say those things about other people. It's not nice."

"I don't know Peg, the kid may have a point."

At hearing the other voice, the two ladies looked over to see Dugan standing in the doorway. Peggy hadn't heard the door open, but clearly, he must have heard at least the tail-end of their conversation.

"Dugan," Peggy greeted, as she shook her head slightly at his comment.

"Uncle Dugan."

"Hi there little Miss," Dugan said "I heard you were visiting the office today."

"Sarah isn't feeling that well today, Timothy."

Dugan looked over at Sarah, who nodded with a sad face before she took another sip of her tea.

"Aw, I'm sorry to hear that, Sarah. I hope you feel better soon."

"Thank you, Uncle Dum Dum," Sarah said, with a little giggle at the end. As she laughed at his nickname.

"Well, Peg. I think she may live yet," Dugan commented, at hearing the child laugh. He then moved to sit down next to Sarah, and reached over to pat her shoulder.

Peggy smiled as Dugan began a conversation with her daughter. A few minutes later, Peggy had finally finished typing up her report. And once she stapled the papers together, she glanced up at the clock.

"Dugan, would you mind watching Sarah for maybe forty-five minutes at most? I have a meeting."

"Yeah, of course, Peg. It's no trouble."

"Thank you," Peggy said, while she stood up to leave the room. "Bye Sarah, you be good."

After Peggy left the room, Dugan turned to Sarah and helped her set her empty cup down on the coffee table in front of them. Since the child couldn't reach it all that well.

"So Sarah, tell me. How's school?"

"Good"

"So, do you have a boyfriend?"

"No, Uncle Dum Dum." Sarah said with a laugh.

"Really?" Dugan questioned and Sarah nodded in reply. "Well, would you tell me if you did have one?"

Sarah bit down on her lip as she thought about it, before she shook her head. "No."

Dugan sighed at Sarah's answer, which reminded him very much of her mother.

"Okay."

Sarah giggled at her uncle's response, and then scooted over to give him a quick hug.

"I still love you, Uncle Dum Dum."

"I love you too, sweetie," Dugan replied. "Hey! I have something in my desk you might like. Wanna see it?"

Sarah then nodded, happily. "Yeah."

* * *

A little while later, elsewhere in the office, Peggy, Howard and Phillips had just finished their meeting. Phillips had already stepped out and Howard lingered behind as Peggy collected her things.

"So I hear that you brought Sarah to work with you today? I hope she's staying out of trouble," Howard said, with a smile as he thought about his friend's daughter.

"I did. She wasn't feeling well today. And I couldn't get a sitter on short notice so."

"Well, I hope she feels better soon."

"You should come and see her. I'm sure Sarah would love that."

"I think I will. I have some time before I have to go meet my date," Howard said, glancing at his watch. And then when he looked up, he saw Peggy giving him a look. "What?"

"Howard, you do realize that the women you entertain were once little girls, like Sarah."

"I do, but Peg. They are adults."

Peggy continued to look at him with a scolding expression.

"You may have a point but still. Try to act like a gentlemen, Howard."

"Oh I always do," Howard replied and Peggy rolled her eyes. "Don't worry Peg, I'd never let Sarah date a man like me."

"Nice to know you're protective of someone."

It never ceased to warm Peggy's heart, to see how much Howard and the Howling Commandos adored Sarah. And to see how much her daughter adored them in return. Sarah was indeed very fortunate to have so many people in her life who cared for her.

"But of course. And I am protective of another woman, who is a dear friend of mine."

"And that woman being me."

Howard nodded and Peggy gave him a little smile. "Of course. Peg. And who knows maybe I will settle down one day."

A surprised expression then appeared on Peggy's face. "I have to say. I never thought I'd hear you say that, Howard."

"It would be a long way off, but who knows. It might be nice," Howard mused with a shrug.

"Maybe it would."

"Speaking of. How was your date?"

"It was good," Peggy said. "We had a great time and Sarah likes him. That's all I could ask for, really. In fact, we're going to see a film later this week."

Howard smiled, "Congrats Peggy. I'm proud of you, pal. You deserve to be happy…I know Steve would want that for you."

"Thank you, Howard," Peggy said and then paused. "I know he would too."

It was difficult for Peggy to move on, especially with how busy she was with work, and Sarah. She still missed Steve very much, and knew without a doubt that she would always love him. Now all she had to do whenever she missed him, was think of what a wonderful person he was, and take one look at their daughter. And she'd see him.

For Peggy, dating at first felt strange. Almost like she was betraying Sarah's father, in some way. It took some time before it began to feel okay, and that she could move on. When it finally did, Peggy felt relieved, and was glad that she was able to open herself up to someone again.

Now she had a new man in her life, who she cared about and who cared about her. Best of all, he was very understanding about her relationship with Steve. As he had actually met Steve once, when Captain America had saved his unit. A piece of information he had finally shared with her on their last date.

When Peggy and Howard at last moved to open door, they were greeted by Dum Dum and Sarah, who was resting on Dugan's hip.

"Mommy," Sarah greeted.

"Is everything all right?" Peggy asked, glancing at Dugan with worry in her eyes.

"She's fine, Peg. She just missed you is all."

Dugan then set Sarah down on the floor, and Howard waved to the little girl as Peggy knelt down in front of her daughter.

"I'm right here, Sarah. Don't you worry," Peggy said, while she reached out to stroke her daughter's cheek. "Now, how are you feeling, darling?"

"I feel better, Mommy," Sarah said, with her eyes shining brightly.

"Really?" Peggy questioned, as she looked at her child, stunned.

She then moved her hand to check Sarah's temperature via her forehead. It didn't feel warm anymore.

"Yup," Sarah confirmed, happily.

The three adults then exchanged a glance. The cold seemed to have worked its way through Sarah's system within hours. It was remarkable to be sure, and Peggy had a feeling she knew why. Though she couldn't prove it, it seemed like maybe Sarah had inherited more from Steve than she originally thought.

And based on the looks on both Howard and Dugan's faces, she could tell that they were thinking the same thing.

"I'm glad to hear that, Sarah," Peggy said. "Come, let's get you back home."

Peggy then lifted Sarah and carried her back to her office to gather their things.

* * *

Later that night, Peggy and Sarah sat cuddling in a chair while Peggy read to her.

"I like that story," Sarah said, after Peggy had finished reading.

"Me too,"

"Do you want to see what Uncle Dum Dum gave to me?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, Now what did Uncle Dum Dum give you?"

Sarah smiled and then hopped down to go retrieve the item that her uncle had given to her earlier. When she returned, the five-year-old was holding a comic book. Which Peggy instantly recognized, as a Captain America comic book.

"Look Mommy, it's my Daddy."

"So it is," Peggy said, lifting her daughter back on her lap. "Did Dugan read this to you, Sarah?"

"Yes, Daddy had lots of adventures."

"Yes, he sure did," Peggy said, and then kissed the top of her daughter's head.

"Did he really do all this?" Sarah asked, holding up the book.

"Sort of. Your uncle's stories about your Daddy are probably better though."

"I like their stories," Sarah agreed.

It was true, Sarah adored hearing stories about Steve. And Peggy, Howard, The Howling Commandos, and Phillips were all too happy to tell them to her. Peggy had indeed kept the promise she once made to herself, and to her daughter when she was a baby. Sarah did know her father.

"Come on darling, it's time for you to go to bed."

Peggy then followed Sarah over to the child's room. And once the little girl had climbed onto her bed, Peggy moved to tuck her in. After handing her daughter her teddy bear, Peggy then cupped Sarah's face and pressed a kiss to her forehead, before lightly touching her nose.

"Goodnight Sarah. I love you."

"I love you too, Mommy."

"Sleep well," Peggy said, standing up from the bed.

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

After her mother turned around, Sarah met her eyes and said. "Daddy loves me too, right?"

"Of course he does, Sarah. He would be so proud of you," Peggy assured.

"Good. I love him too," Sarah said. "Mommy, can I see the picture of Daddy?"

Peggy nodded, and then reached into the nightstand drawer and handed the picture of Steve to their daughter.

"Here you are."

Sarah looked over the picture of her father, examining every detail of his face. This picture of her father was so different from the other pictures she would see of him, once he became Captain America. Still, this picture was by far her favorite. Though he was smaller than he was in the other pictures, Sarah still thought he was very handsome.

"I like this picture of him."

"So do I," Peggy said with a nod. "Would you like me to leave the picture out tonight?"

"Yes," Sarah replied as she passed the picture back to her mother, and watched her set it on the nightstand.

"There now Daddy will watch over you and keep the bad dreams away." Sarah giggled at her mother's comment. "Goodnight, my darling girl."

"Goodnight Mommy."

Peggy gave her daughter one last smile before she turned off the lights and left the room.

When the door closed, Sarah rolled over to face the picture, and after a moment passed, whispered. "Goodnight Daddy."

**The end**

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading this story! This story has been so much fun to write, and I'm very much looking forward to starting the sequel. Which I should be posting in just a few weeks. Feel free to let me know if you guys have any thoughts or suggestions for the sequel. I will definitely take your ideas under consideration as I develop the story. **

**Thanks again to everyone for their support. I really do appreciate it, and I hope that you guys liked the ending to the story.**


	15. Sequel

**The sequel to this fic is now posted and it is entitled All the Time in the World. Enjoy! **


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